Orange Group has pledged training grants for about 200,000 Egyptians in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and about $28 million (€25 million) for startups in AI and advanced technologies, the Egyptian presidency said on 27 September 2026.
The commitments came at a meeting between President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Christel Heydemann, Orange Group’s chief executive, attended by communications minister Raafat Hindi and the heads of Orange Middle East and Africa and Orange Egypt.
What was announced
According to the presidency’s statement, the training grants include the chance to obtain internationally recognised certifications. Orange also committed to equipping “a number of Egyptian universities” with technology laboratories. The startup money is described as supporting startups working in AI and advanced technologies.
The statement does not say over what period the money or the training will be delivered, how the startup money will be distributed, which universities will benefit, or whether any of it adds to programmes Orange already runs in Egypt.
A larger ask behind it
El-Sisi used the meeting to press for more. The presidency said Egypt wants Orange to increase its investment in the country, and that El-Sisi “looks forward to exploring cooperation opportunities” with the group on the second phase of the National Digital Health Project, drawing on its cloud computing, cybersecurity and systems integration work. No commitment on that was announced.
Heydemann described Orange’s work in Egypt as a model that could be replicated elsewhere in the region, particularly across Africa. It comes in a busy month for Egypt’s digital sector, which has also seen the country’s first AI data centre and new real-time data rules for consumer lenders.
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