Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is expanding its women’s digital empowerment agenda through the Qodwa.Tech initiative, positioning technology, e-commerce and artificial intelligence as tools for supporting female entrepreneurship and wider economic inclusion.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hindi attended the sixth edition of the “Future of Women Empowerment in the Era of Digital Transformation 2026” event, held under the theme “Integrated Building for Sustainable Leadership.” The event brought together representatives of international institutions, development partners, experts and entrepreneurs to highlight the role of digital tools in supporting women’s economic and social participation.
Hindi said the ministry’s broader Digital Egypt vision is based on expanding digital infrastructure, digitising government services, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship, and investing in digital skills across governorates. He stressed that such efforts are intended to give women and young people stronger opportunities to participate in the digital economy and future labour markets.
The Qodwa.Tech initiative, launched by MCIT in 2019 under the Digital Transformation for Sustainable Development in Egypt project, aims to use information and communications technology to support women’s economic and social empowerment. According to MCIT, the initiative helps women and girls acquire skills in social media marketing, e-commerce platforms, AI tools, digital content creation, fintech, freelancing and entrepreneurship.
Official MCIT data show that Qodwa.Tech had reached 43,270 women nationwide by 2026. The ministry said 5,500 women and girls had taken part in tailored training programmes, 19,700 women had attended digital-awareness sessions, around 18,000 women entrepreneurs had participated in peer-learning activities, and 70 women had been trained as “knowledge ambassadors” to transfer digital know-how within their local communities.
Chitose Noguchi, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Egypt, described Qodwa.Tech as a national platform for digital inclusion and women’s empowerment, noting its role in helping women entrepreneurs improve their ability to manage projects and access digital markets.
The initiative has increasingly incorporated artificial intelligence into its training tracks. In October 2025, MCIT announced an AI for Digital Marketing and E-Commerce programme under Qodwa.Tech, targeting women entrepreneurs running handicraft and service-based projects. The programme covered AI tools for digital marketing, product development, audience analysis, promotional content creation and e-commerce expansion.
Qodwa.Tech has also gained international recognition. MCIT said the initiative was selected at the Paris Peace Forum 2025 as one of 30 leading projects out of nearly 400 global submissions, representing Egypt and the Arab region as a model for women’s socio-economic empowerment through digital transformation.
During the event, Hindi honoured a number of Qodwa.Tech graduates, inspiring female role models, development partners, experts and “knowledge leaders” who contributed to spreading digital awareness and peer-based learning across Egyptian governorates.
For Egypt, the initiative reflects a broader shift in digital policy: moving from technology access alone toward practical economic empowerment, where women-led small businesses, heritage crafts and service projects can use digital platforms and AI-enabled tools to expand productivity, reach wider markets and participate more effectively in the digital economy.
