A new episode of Narrative Summit – Reshaping Norms 2021 was released on social media platforms. The new episode, titled Digital Transformation and Achieving Economic Growth, features Microsoft Egypt’s General Manager, Mirna Arif, and Google’s Regional Director in Egypt Hisham El Nazer, to discuss the role of information technology and digital transformation in accelerating Egypt Vision 2030 and the role of the private sector in bringing about change across several sectors. From education, through health, to finance, technology will surely have a major impact on the future, especially as we continue mankind’s fight against Covid-19.
Mirna Arif, General Manager of Microsoft Egypt, said: “Digital transformation has become an essential part of achieving economic growth and one of the most important priorities of governments and companies alike. Egypt has embarked on a development strategy within Vision 2030, centred on quick leaps to achieve digital transformation by working on three main aspects in parallel, namely: integrating digital transformation in all sectors; raising labour digital skills; and exploiting digital transformation in unlocking the potential of creativity and innovation. The strategy has, indeed, brought about major development. Looking at the communications and information technology sector, we will find that it has achieved a growth of 16% while the industry business volume reached some EGP 125bn, which confirms the effective steps of the state towards digital transformation at the level of various institutions and sectors.”
Arif expressed her happiness, as the Microsoft Egypt Country Manager, to be working with the Egyptian government, praising the achievements of the government in digital transformation. “Evidence for the success of the digital transformation endeavour is everywhere. Technology in the education sector played a major role in completing the educational process through adopting a remote system and helped several agencies improve their performance. Microsoft Egypt worked with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education to develop the tools that have since helped 20 million students continue learning online. Microsoft also partnered with the Ministries of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and Communications to exploit modern technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to survey the agricultural lands and identify each field’s needs of water. Moreover, Microsoft is also participating in the e-invoice project in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and the Egyptian Tax Authority, which is a strategic project that achieves integration between the tax system and the commercial community,” she added.
Hisham El Nazer, Regional Director of Google in Egypt, said that digital platforms have become a reality and a global trend. “The number of DIY videos has increased by 55% compared to last year, while Google Digital Skills saw a 200% hike in the same period. These figures indicate that the Covid-19 crisis affected the number and quality of job opportunities available in Egypt. The latest statistics of the Arab Monetary Fund show that there are one million jobs at risk of disappearance, while other types of jobs are emerging. While this could be alarming, planning ahead can certainly be an asset. Through cooperation between Google and AlphaBetaResearch, we found that by 2030, digital transformation can contribute $3.4trn to the total GDP of emerging markets. And, in Egypt, it is possible that digital transformation can add $140bn to the GDP,” he added.
El Nazer pointed out that Google has a responsibility towards individuals, companies, and society as a whole by helping them to navigate through the changes. The “Go Strong with Google” initiative was launched last October to help one million people in the Middle East and North Africa by granting them access to digital skills training, increasing the number of online commercial activities, and providing financial support, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Egyptian Tourism Federation, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
This episode from the Narrative Summit – Reshaping Norms 2021 is part of the online series that launched last year on social media. The summit gives the stage for experts and specialists in various issues to present their success stories and thought-provoking thoughts to the public, with a focus, this year, on optimism. The 2021 series builds on the great success achieved in 2020, when Narrative Summit launched five seasons of its flagship online forum Reshaping Norms, receiving great follow-up on social media, hitting 11 million followers, 4.5 million views, and 3.5 million interactions.