Egypt's capital is home to 33% of MENA's registered startups and leads Africa in startup funding raised, attracting US$190m in Q1 2026 alone.

Africa's third-most-populous country and the Arab world's most populous state, Egypt manages US$164 billion in external debt under an IMF program while controlling the Suez Canal and anchoring Gaza diplomacy.

The Egypt-Ethiopia-Sudan dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has no binding operating rules, and Egypt, with 105 million people, sources 97% of its water from the Nile.

Egypt's pound (EGP) shed more than 70% of its value from 2022 to 2024 through three devaluations before stabilizing near LE 50 per US dollar under IMF supervision.

The CBE keeps rates on hold a second straight meeting and lifts its 2026 inflation forecast to 16-17% from 11%, blaming the regional conflict and an energy shock

With the dam inaugurated and the reservoir near 24 billion cubic metres, Cairo says the unilateral June filling threatens its water security as the Blue Nile drops

Trump courts El-Sisi at the G7 over Gaza reconstruction and the Iran deal; at home inflation, a weak pound and lost Suez revenue still bite

At the G7 Trump says the dam is causing Egypt 'tremendous problems' and offers to restart US Nile mediation, six months after Ethiopia inaugurated Africa's largest hydro project

Tamar/Leviathan maintenance cuts ~250 mcf/d on top of the war cutoff; Cairo fast-tracks LNG to hold a gas-dependent grid through summer