Cairo ICT 2026 opens in New Cairo on 7 November, marking 30 years with 'AI in Action'
The 30th edition of Cairo ICT, the Middle East and Africa's technology exhibition and conference, opens on Saturday 7 November 2026 at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo and runs until Tuesday 10 November under the theme 'AI in Action', with more than 580 exhibitors and 550 speakers, under the patronage of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
Five platforms under one badge
Cairo ICT has grown into an umbrella for five platforms that share one free visitor badge. Alongside the main exhibition and forum, the 30th edition hosts the 13th edition of PAFIX, the digital payments and financial inclusion exhibition and conference held under the patronage of the Central Bank of Egypt; the third edition of AIDC² Expo for artificial intelligence, data centres and cloud computing; Connecta and Connecta Play for young people, smart devices, entertainment technology and gaming; and the Innovation Arena for startups and entrepreneurs. The main halls are open daily from 10:00 to 19:00, while Connecta (Hall 4) runs from Sunday 8 to Tuesday 10 November, 10:00 to 20:00. Entry is free with a visitor badge registered on the official site, cairoict.com.
A ministerial summit opens the edition
The edition opens with a ministerial summit titled “AI in Action: From Success Stories to Nationwide Impact”, bringing together the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Raafat Hendy, the Minister of Investment, Mohamed Farid, the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sewilam, the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mahmoud Esmat, the Minister of Finance, Ahmed Kouchouk, and the Minister of Justice, Mahmoud Helmy El-Sherif. The message, as the organisers put it, is that artificial intelligence is now an infrastructure and economic question, not only a technology-sector conversation. On 7 November the event also hosts a high-level roundtable on “Sovereign AI Infrastructure”, organised with the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization (AICTO) and Smart Africa, alongside closed sessions on child protection from digital threats, the role of Arab and African women in AI, energy and mining applications, banking data centres, and intelligent transport.
Practical AI, awards and a new film initiative
“AI in Action” is the thread running through the programme. Under Connecta, the AI Innovation Factory runs from 8 to 10 November with Mercatura Forum, offering an AI hackathon, innovation challenges, robotics activities and workshops to help participants turn ideas into working prototypes, plus a Cyber Zone developed with CyShield. The edition also launches the first MEA AI Awards for the Middle East and Africa, and a new “Khayal” initiative, in strategic partnership with Aroma, to recognise the best short film made using artificial intelligence. Three conference sessions are devoted to AI in journalism and media. Osama Kamal, Chairman of Trade Fairs International, said the 30th edition “represents an important milestone” and that the focus is on “turning artificial intelligence into practical applications that respond to the needs of institutions and communities”.
Thirty years of the show
Cairo ICT began in 1996 under the theme “A Star Is Born”, and its history tracks Egypt’s digital milestones: the free internet initiative in 2002, “PC for Every Home” in 2003, the arrival of 3G, the first Egyptian-made mobile phone in 2017, electronic visas and the technology zones. Former President Hosni Mubarak opened the 2002 edition, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi opened seven consecutive editions from 2015 to 2021, and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly opened the event in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The 30th edition is also backed by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health and Population, Civil Aviation, and Education, with official delegations from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, China, Sudan, Togo and Rwanda. Dell Technologies is the main sponsor, eFinance Investment Group the strategic sponsor, Huawei the technology partner, and MIDAR a main sponsor; Egypt Trust and the Commercial International Bank (CIB) are platinum sponsors, Fortinet the security sponsor, and ICT Misr and IoT Misr the infrastructure sponsors.
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