#Egypt #AIDC - This year’s AIDC² Expo, an exhibition and conference on AI, data centres and cloud computing, takes place alongside the 30th Cairo ICT in New Cairo from 7 to 10 November 2026. The Egyptian technology show runs under the theme “AI in Action” and is backed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. A closed-door roundtable on sovereign AI infrastructure on 7 November will look at shared computing capacity across Africa and the Arab region. Delegations from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, China, Sudan, Togo and Rwanda are attending.
SO WHAT? - AIDC² tops a pivotal year for Egypt’s nascent artificial intelligence sector, with a growing pipeline of locally built AI models, progress on future AI infrastructure and a new minister for communications and technology. Following the government’s announcement last month that up to seven ‘mega data centres’ are planned, the event will host ahigh-level roundtable on “Sovereign AI Infrastructure”. Meanwhile, AIDC² provides a venue that is expected to bring together Egypt’s new generation of AI builders.
KEY POINTS:
Taking place under the theme AI in Action, Cairo ICT marks its 30th edition from 7 to 10 November 2026 at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo. Trade Fairs International organises it with United Media Services.
The event will focus on practical AI use to improve services, raise business efficiency and support innovation. Egypt’s ministries of communications, foreign affairs, health, civil aviation and education are patrons. Dell Technologies and e-finance are main sponsors, and Huawei is technology partner.
AIDC², the Exhibition and Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Data Centres and Cloud Computing, holds its third edition alongside Cairo ICT. Its conference sessions cover the infrastructure, data centres, skills and systems integration that AI adoption needs.
Sovereign AI Infrastructure Roundtable
On 7 November, Cairo ICT, the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization (AICTO) and the Smart Africa Alliance host a roundtable on sovereign AI infrastructure. Arab and African experts and decision-makers will meet behind closed doors, then present conclusions at a public panel.
The organisers say Africa and the Arab region face three gaps: data that falls outside national legal frameworks, limited and costly access to GPUs, and models that handle local languages and contexts poorly. The roundtable aims to agree a joint roadmap for pooled, interoperable AI infrastructure.
AI on the ground: from success stories to nationwide impact
An opening ministerial summit includes Egypt’s ministers of communications, investment, finance, justice, electricity and water resources. Closed sessions cover banking data centres, infrastructure security, smart transport and energy and mining.
AI Innovation Factory
The AI Innovation Factory runs from 8 to 10 November with an AI hackathon, robotics activities and mentoring. The event also launches the first MEA AI Awards 2026 and “Khayal”, billed as the first Arab award for the best AI-made short film.
Media and AI
Cairo ICT and Dubai Media Academy are running a Media & AI track on Sunday 8 November, with three 45-minute panels, each with a moderator and up to five speakers.
The panels are “The New Media Economy” (12:00), “The Opportunity Map” (13:00) and “Our Voice, Our Story” (14:00). They cover how AI is changing media business models, jobs and identity, and the contest over whose stories and language AI models tell.
ZOOM OUT - The 2030 Digital Egypt strategy targets include ICT contributing 8% of GDP, $12 billion in annual digital exports and 200,000 new jobs. Egypt’s national AI strategy flags the lack of a major hyperscaler presence as an obstacle, because data locality rules stop organisations moving workloads abroad. However, last month Communications and Information Technology Minister Raafat Hendy disclosed that Egypt plans five to seven “mega data centres” over the next four to five years, with some due to start exporting services by 2030.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Source: Cairo ICT / AIDC²
Middle East AI News is a media partner of Cairo ICT & AIDC², If you haven’t yet registered for your expo pass, you can get one here.
Read more about AI in Egypt:
Egypt plans up to seven ‘mega data centres’ (Africa AI News)
Egyptian startup releases three open-source Arabic models (Middle East AI News)
TokenAI launches compact AI decision model (Middle East AI News)
Orange pledges AI training for 200,000 Egyptians (Middle East AI News)
TokenAI open-sources Arabic language model (Middle East AI News)