As a continuation of efforts to support informal women entrepreneurs in Egypt’s digital economy, the Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D) at the Onsi Sawiris School of Business of the American University in Cairo, launched the policy brief titled " Women informal Digital Entrepreneurs in Egypt: Skills Development and Capacity Building", supported by Friedrich Ebert Egypt. The policy brief was launched during a high-level panel discussion on 25 May 2025 at AUC’s Tahrir Campus (Oriental Hall).  

 The panel brought together key stakeholders to address the urgent need for targeted capacity building and skills development for women digital entrepreneurs and to explore the unique challenges and opportunities that these new forms of work present.

The policy brief builds on foundational research from earlier research presented in a previous policy brief titled “Women and Work in Egypt’s Informal Digital Economy,” released by A2K4D and FES Egypt in 2023. While the first policy brief assessed the rapid growth of women engaging in the informal digital sector as a result of accelerated digitization following the COVID-19 pandemic, the second policy brief provides an actionable roadmap for capacity building and skills development. It proposes concrete and robust programs for enhancing digital, business, and soft skills to foster the economic empowerment of women digital entrepreneurs.

The launch event, moderated by A2K4D Founding Director Dr. Nagla Rizk, convened a distinguished panel of experts from government, civil society, and the private sector. The panelists shared invaluable perspectives on building a more inclusive digital economy and included: Ronja Schiffer (Country Director at FES Egypt), MP Maha Abdel Nasser, Rania Ayman (CEO and Founder of Entreprenelle), Farah Ghazal (Program Manager at FES Egypt), Rehab Wagih (Woman Digital Entrepreneur), Mayy AbdelBary (CEO of It-Blocks), and Amr Soliman (Board Member, Economic & Environment Chair, National Council for Women (NCW).

During her opening remarks, Dr. Nagla Rizk detailed the research process behind the policy brief, describing it as both policy-oriented and empirical. This extensive process involved thirty semi-structured interviews, two webinars, and a focus group, which identified the gaps in digital, business, and soft skills among women digital entrepreneurs. Based on these findings, a second focus group was held with stakeholders from government, the private sector, and civil society to bridge this divide through a clear and collaborative action plan.

Contributing a vital perspective, Ronja Schiffer emphasized the project’s inherently feminist approach, as it focuses on addressing the systemic burdens disproportionately placed on women in the informal economy. She argued that empowering women entrepreneurs requires more than just training; it demands building a supportive ecosystem providing critical infrastructure, such as accessible childcare, to remove barriers preventing women from accessing skills development opportunities. She also noted that while these initiatives appear beneficial “in theory,” women will face difficulties in acquiring sufficient skills to operate professionally and compete with larger businesses, which have the capacity to outsource some of their work. Noting a similar lack of awareness about existing initiatives in the private sector, Doaa Salem, Director of Programs and Partnerships at the School of Continuing Education at the American University in Cairo (SCE), shared that the SCE provides free English courses under the program “Road to College” but not many women are aware of this.

Offering a contrasting viewpoint, Rehab Wagih argued that women must possess foundational knowledge of social media, pricing, comparative analysis, and data to thrive in the digital age. However, she asserted that women should not rely solely on government initiatives to “market” themselves. Sharing the story of her accessories store, R&T Accessories, and the impact of the COVD-19 pandemic on brick and mortar businesses. She decided to explore social media, data, and AI, citing the QudwaTech initiative, an impactful program that trained over 60,000 beneficiaries and encouraged them to share their knowledge with other women in their community and offer check-ins post-course completion. 

Adding another crucial layer to the discussion, Rania Ayman highlighted that the lack of customized training poses a significant gap in existing initiatives. She explained that not only do most initiatives concentrate on Cairo, but they also pay little attention to the unique characteristics of each governorate. She noted that each region in Egypt has its own characteristics; for example, Assiut is highly tech-savvy but faces its distinct challenges. For this reason, a “cookie-cutter” approach to training programs is ineffective. “We need to focus on each sector, each city, and zoom in to see what specific support is needed,” she asserted. Echoing this call for granular approaches, Mayy AbdelBary, CEO of IT-Blocks, advocated for even further segmentation. She emphasized the importance of tailoring training programs to account for education levels, specific fields of study, and different economic sectors to ensure that the support is truly relevant for each individual. A similar argument was presented by Noha Abdel Hamid, President of Women Entrepreneurs Network (WEN), who noted that solutions do not need to be “complicated,” but rather suitable for the environment.

Focusing on practical solutions, Amr Soliman, Board Member and Economic and Environment Chair at the National Council for Women (NCW), shared his experience with establishing lending and saving programs in Egypt starting in 2010. Most importantly, he underscored the role of trust among women in fostering teamwork, a common theme in similar programs in Africa dating back to the 1980s. He also added another dimension to the discussion: scalability. Traditionally, these projects rely on training one would in turn lead a group of women and disseminate the knowledge. To overcome the limitations of this approach, the NCW leveraged technology to scale the project and began a two-year process to formalize the initiatives by convincing banks to collaborate, as shared bank accounts are not typically an option for non-first-degree relatives. This innovative approach not only contributed to building the “supportive ecosystem” by creating accessible financial development opportunities that several panelists called for, but also, according to Soliman, proved that “the collective mindset is more powerful than an individual one.” While Abdelbary agreed with Soliman that access to bank accounts is critical for women working in the informal sector, she stated that the primary focus should be on the “sustainability” of such project, rather than its “scalability,” a suggestion that ties into the broader discussion among the panelists about the need for effective, tailored support to remove barriers for women’s economic empowerment.

Wrapping up the event, Dr. Nagla Rizk offered a compelling vision for a new role for the MENA Observatory on Responsible AI, A2K4D’s flagship initiative, which aims to be a dynamic, inclusive, and locally driven platform that serves as a catalyst for change. The Observatory adopts an interdisciplinary policymaking approach to foster gender-sensitive policy responses that address how AI impacts everyone’s lives. The MENA Observatory’s website includes several gender focused resources, including webinars, blogs,policy briefs and case studies on the impact of AI governance of women’s health across various MENA countries. Dr. Rizk suggested that the Observatory could undertake a mapping exercise of existing initiatives aimed at empowering women working in the informal economy. This mapping exercise would also entail the dissemination of information in accessible Arabic, maximizing the abilities of these much-needed resources to reach their intended audiences. Finally, Dr. Rizk, emphasized the importance of creating channels for women to contribute their experiences and struggles to create a system for consistent feedback. This insightful discussion underscored the critical need for collaborative, tailored, and sustainable approaches and the role that the Observatory could play as a central hub, connecting efforts to foster a more effective support system for women in the region.

Access the " Women informal Digital Entrepreneurs in Egypt: Skills Development and Capacity Building" 2025 - Policy Brief Here.