Title page 1

Contents 7

Foreword 4

Acknowledgements 5

Abbreviations and acronyms 10

Executive summary 13

1. Overall assessment and recommendations 16

1.1. Overall assessment 17

1.1.1. Overall performance of the Egyptian innovation system and challenges for the future 17

1.1.2. Business sector R&D and innovation 19

1.1.3. Knowledge exchange between the industrial and scientific sectors 21

1.1.4. Enhancing strategic international co-operation in science, technology, and innovation (STI) 23

1.1.5. Strengthening scientific research in Egypt 25

1.1.6. Transforming STI governance and enhancing the national foresight system 28

1.2. Key challenges and recommendations 34

References 56

Notes 58

2. An overview of Egypt's innovation performance 59

2.1. Egypt is striving to improve macroeconomic stability 61

2.2. Foreign direct investment holds potential for growth 62

2.3. Egypt's economy is slowly diversifying 64

2.4. The government is committed to sustainable development 68

2.5. Skills development is progressing, but significant gaps remain 70

2.6. Egypt needs to positively leverage the benefits of brain drain and facilitate brain circulation 71

2.7. Strengthening of scientific efforts is reflected into metrics 73

2.8. Conclusion 74

References 76

Notes 79

3. Business sector research, development and innovation in Egypt 80

3.1. A general assessment of current business innovation performance in Egypt 82

3.1.1. Egypt's businesses invest very little in R&D 82

3.1.2. Egyptian firms' R&D and innovation performance could be further strengthened 83

3.1.3. There is room for improvement in researcher employment in the business sector 84

3.1.4. Patenting activity is very low and has decreased in recent years 85

3.1.5. There is potential for the development of knowledge-intensive industries 87

3.2. A dual innovation economy: Vibrant start-ups and lagging traditional firms 89

3.2.1. Egypt's fast-developing start-up ecosystem 89

3.2.2. Traditional businesses and their innovation challenges 91

3.3. Enhancing the policy framework and support for business R&D and innovation in Egypt 94

3.3.1. Overview of current policies and support for business innovation 94

3.3.2. Strengthening the current policy framework to foster business innovation 102

3.3.3. Access to finance is one of the keys for business R&D and innovation 109

3.3.4. Aligning innovation policies with the green transition and digital transformation 110

3.4. Conclusion 112

References 113

Notes 122

4. Science-industry linkages in Egypt 123

4.1. There is potential for increasing science-industry linkages in Egypt 125

4.1.1. Science-industry linkages are in early stages of development 125

4.1.2. Co-operation for firm-level innovation has room for improvement 127

4.1.3. The absorptive capacity of industry could further be improved increasing highly skilled talent 127

4.1.4. Egypt has called on PRPs to make greater efforts in the commercialisation of research results 129

4.1.5. Emphasis on the science-push model merits reconsideration 131

4.2. Efforts are underway to establish a comprehensive support system for science-industry linkages 131

4.2.1. Motivated researchers are Egypt's greatest asset for science-industry linkages 133

4.2.2. Reforms in intellectual property rights 133

4.2.3. Mapping existing support mechanisms for science-industry linkages 135

4.3. Opportunities for boosting science-industry linkages 144

4.3.1. Policy mix to stimulate science-industry linkages 145

4.3.2. Industry involvement in research infrastructure 147

4.3.3. Long-term programmes 148

4.3.4. Strengthening regional science-industry linkages 150

4.3.5. Researchers who want to create spin-off companies need tailor-made support 152

4.4. Conclusion 152

References 154

5. The internationalisation of research in Egypt 158

5.1. An overall evaluation of the level of international collaboration in Egypt 160

5.1.1. International collaboration is relatively high in terms of co-authorship and co-patenting 160

5.1.2. Egypt has established significant bilateral collaboration with MENA countries, as well as globally leading countries in science and technology 162

5.1.3. A strategic partnership with the European Union could develop STI in Egypt 168

5.1.4. Egypt plays a key role in scientific research in the MENA region, while its role in Africa could be enhanced 170

5.1.5. Egypt is involved in most multilateral research networks 173

5.2. Internationalisation policy and support at the system level 174

5.2.1. A system-wide internationalisation strategy for STI is needed 174

5.2.2. The institutional structure for supporting STI internationalisation needs to be improved 175

5.2.3. A whole-of-government approach or infrastructure to support international collaboration could be further enhanced 176

5.2.4. There are regulatory issues that could constrain Egypt's potential for extensive international collaboration 178

5.3. International research mobility 178

5.3.1. Egypt needs to enhance its efforts to attract international academics 178

5.3.2. Outbound research mobility is a challenging issue for policymakers 180

5.4. Conclusion 180

References 181

Notes 188

6. Strengthening scientific research in Egypt 189

6.1. A well-performing research system 191

6.1.1. Both the volume and the quality of Egypt's research output are improving 191

6.1.2. Public-sector research providers (PRPs) are increasingly productive 192

6.1.3. The portfolio of scientific disciplines shows specialisation and excellence in specific disciplines 193

6.1.4. Publication bonus payments have stimulated output 193

6.1.5. A greater emphasis on the need to safeguard research integrity 194

6.1.6. Promising developments in open access 196

6.2. Resource constraints continue to be a bottleneck for scientific research 197

6.2.1. Changes are expected in the allocation of public research funding 197

6.2.2. Egypt needs to step up efforts in developing its human resource base for R&D 199

6.2.3. Dedicated research support services could boost research activities in universities 203

6.2.4. Promising developments in research infrastructure can be enhanced through co-ordination and shared use 203

6.3. Stronger translation of research priority areas into resource allocation is needed 206

6.3.1. Strategic roadmaps for specific fields of science 206

6.3.2. Strengthening the process of identifying high-priority areas 207

6.3.3. Advancing interdisciplinary research and promoting collaboration among PRPs 208

6.4. Egypt's government research centres have untapped development potential 211

6.4.1. History of government research centres in Egypt 211

6.4.2. Performance of government research centres 212

6.4.3. Increasing the impact of research centres on the Egyptian economy 215

6.4.4. Aligning the mandates of public research centres with strategic objectives 216

6.4.5. Improving the governance and co-ordination of public research centres 217

6.5. Conclusion 218

References 219

Notes 224

7. Transforming science, technology and innovation governance in Egypt 225

7.1. Introduction 227

7.2. Egypt's four-tiered innovation governance system 228

7.2.1. At the strategic orientation level, the recent establishment of the NCERI and the MCE marks a promising step, but requires... 229

7.2.2. At the policy formulation level, key Ministries define national priorities and allocate funding for STI initiatives 230

7.2.3. At the policy implementation level, multiple agencies implement the policies, resulting in a fragmented approach 230

7.3. Policy frameworks and strategic plans 233

7.3.1. Egypt Vision 2030 serves as Egypt's overarching strategic document 233

7.3.2. Numerous sectoral strategies are being adopted under the umbrella of the Egypt Vision 2030 235

7.4. Policy coherence and co-ordination 237

7.4.1. There is room for improvement for policy co-ordination 237

7.4.2. Long-term commitment to projects and initiatives could be further strengthened 239

7.4.3. Addressing institutional barriers to enhance the coherence of actions 240

7.4.4. Harmonisation and rationalisation of policies 240

7.4.5. Establishment of a dedicated co-ordinating body 242

7.4.6. National Council for Education, Research, and Innovation (NCERI) 242

7.5. Accountability and monitoring 245

7.5.1. Systematic M&E and assessment mechanisms need to be built into policies, programmes and projects 246

7.5.2. The government is currently reforming legal instruments, funding mechanisms, policies, etc., to take evaluation and assessment... 251

7.6. Adaptability and priority setting 252

7.6.1. Defining mission-oriented objectives and policies and addressing directionality in policy building 253

7.6.2. Navigating a dual focus: Balancing traditional sectoral policies and mission-oriented strategies in Egypt Vision 2030 253

7.6.3. Foresight should be systematically and uniformly implemented at all levels of policy 255

7.6.4. Embedding foresight in policy making 258

7.7. Conclusion 260

References 261

Table 1.1. SWOT Analysis 33

Table 1.2. Challenges and recommendations 34

Table 2.1. Egypt's main achievements and challenges in innovation performance 75

Table 3.1. Percentage of firms that conducted product and process innovation: Egypt, OECD median and other economies, 2018-2020 84

Table 3.2. Major government policies and initiatives for business innovation in Egypt 94

Table 3.3. Key initiatives to promote start-ups in Egypt 98

Table 3.4. Egypt's main achievements and challenges related to business R&D and innovation 112

Table 4.1. Different forms of science-industry linkages and their relevance for Egypt 126

Table 4.2. Patent applications granted to PRPs, 2014-2021 130

Table 4.3. Policy measures in Egypt to support science-industry linkages 132

Table 4.4. Research-to-market and technology transfer initiatives 136

Table 4.5. Support for science-industry linkages in ICT 139

Table 4.6. Industry clusters and science parks 141

Table 4.7. Egypt's main achievements and challenges related to science-industry linkages 153

Table 5.1. Horizon 2020 participation and net EU contribution relative to economic size 172

Table 5.2. Egypt's main achievements and challenges related to the internationalisation of research 181

Table 6.1. Number of international publications produced in top five public universities and government research centres: Egypt, 2015-2018 192

Table 6.2. Evolution of the number of staff in Egypt's National Research Center, 2014 and 2024 201

Table 6.3. Distribution of students enrolled in higher education: Egypt, 2020 202

Table 6.4. Types and examples of research infrastructure in Egypt, 2024 204

Table 6.5. List of public research centres in Egypt, 2025 211

Table 6.6. Major research projects based on Korea's government research institutes' roles and responsibilities 216

Table 6.7. Egypt's main achievements and challenges in strengthening the research system 219

Table 7.1. MHESR scientific research affairs: Financing entities 231

Table 7.2. Ministries and key agencies in Egypt's STI Ecosystem 232

Table 7.3. Egypt's principal science, technology and innovation strategies 236

Table 7.4. Egypt's main achievements and challenges related to STI governance 260

Boxes 64

Box 2.1. The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone): Strategic potential for Egypt 64

Box 3.1. Egypt's Unicorn companies 89

Box 3.2. Successful example of industry-wide co-creation: The fintech sector in Egypt 97

Box 3.3. Egypt Startup Charter 100

Box 3.4. R&D promotion strategies in Korea and Viet Nam 102

Box 3.5. Examples of business R&D grants 103

Box 3.6. The European Union's efforts in public procurement of innovation 104

Box 3.7. International examples of regulatory sandboxes 105

Box 3.8. Korea's Tech Incubator Program for Startups (TIPS): Leveraging PPP to foster prominent start-ups 106

Box 3.9. Best practices for expanding the technological capabilities of SMEs 107

Box 3.10. ELARABY's successful collaboration with academia 108

Box 3.11. Denmark's green growth strategy 111

Box 4.1. Graduate projects to provide innovative solutions to industry challenges in Egypt 128

Box 4.2. Spain's subsidies for the temporary employment of doctoral students in industry 129

Box 4.3. The evolving influence of the US Bayh-Dole Act 135

Box 4.4. Support for research-to-market and technology transfer initiatives 136

Box 4.5. Support for science-industry linkages in ICT 140

Box 4.6. Industry clusters as platforms for science-industry collaboration 142

Box 4.7. Science parks and university-based innovation hubs: Linking research with industry needs 144

Box 4.8. Austria's policy mix to stimulate science-industry linkages 146

Box 4.9. France's Pôles de compétitivité policy 147

Box 4.10. The ASRT's KTAs 148

Box 4.11. Norway's Scheme for Research-Based Innovation (SFI) 149

Box 4.12. Alliance and Development Initiative 150

Box 4.13. Europe's Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) 151

Box 4.14. Leuven Research & Development 152

Box 5.1. USAID and Egypt 164

Box 5.2. The Chinese-Egyptian Research Fund (CERF) 165

Box 5.3. Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) 166

Box 5.4. Horizon 2020 and the RDI programme 169

Box 5.5. SESAME: A model for regional scientific infrastructure 172

Box 5.6. Good practice example: Korea's International R&D Promotion Strategy (2023) 175

Box 5.7. Good practice example: Korea's Integrated R&D Information System (IRIS) 177

Box 5.8. Good practice example: Japan's evidence data platform constructed by the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (e-CSTI) 177

Box 5.9. Good practice example: Korea's Brain Pool and Brain Pool+ Program and new funding category 179

Box 6.1. The United Kingdom's Research Integrity Office Concordat and Self-Assessment Tool 195

Box 6.2. The Netherlands' experience in building comprehensive support for research integrity 196

Box 6.3. Policy lessons from Luxembourg's performance contract system for PRPs 198

Box 6.4. Research sites in Egypt 205

Box 6.5. Guiding principles in the research infrastructure management 205

Box 6.6. ASRT roadmap for advancing Egypt's pharmaceutical industry 206

Box 6.7. Korea's 12 key national strategic technologies 207

Box 6.8. The Netherlands' Top Sector Initiative 208

Box 6.9. The Egyptian Genome Project (2021-2032) 209

Box 6.10. Convergence Accelerator programme in the United States 210

Box 6.11. Good practice example: Korea's Global TOP Strategy Research Groups 210

Box 6.12. The reform history of Korean public research centres 217

Box 7.1. Egypt Vision 2030 and its focus on innovation 234

Box 7.2. Egypt's Narrative for Comprehensive Development Reforms for Growth, Jobs and Resilience (September 2025) 238

Box 7.3. Good practice example: South Africa's Revised Strategic Management Model (2023) 241

Box 7.4. Egypt's National Council for Education, Research, and Innovation 243

Box 7.5. Good practice example: Finland's Research and Innovation Council 244

Box 7.6. Impact Dasboard of NordForsk 248

Box 7.7. Providing firm foundations for STI statistics to inform policy: An OECD recommendation 249

Box 7.8. Egypt's Unified Budget Law (Law No. 6/2022) 252

Box 7.9. Korea's dual-track model: combining sectoral upgrading with mission-oriented innovation 255

Box 7.10. OECD foresight methodology 256

Box 7.11. Korean example of integrating foresight into its national STI strategy 258

Box 7.12. Good practice example: Foresight and green technology development in Malaysia 259