This review was developed in close co-operation with the Egyptian government. The OECD expresses its sincere appreciation to the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MPED), in its capacity as national coordinator for Egypt’s engagement with the OECD, as well as the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) as the main contact for this Review.
An Advisory Committee brought together representatives from government, academia and business, including the Innovators Support Fund, the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Benha University, BasharSoft Partner, Khwarizmi Ventures, Endure Capital, the Egyptian Petroleum Research Centre, Development Alternatives Incorporated, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the National Research Centre, Nile University, the Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, and Techne.
The review team would also like to extend its sincere gratitude to the senior officials who have provided strategic insights - special thanks are due to Hossam Osman, Deputy Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research and Yasser Refaat, former Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
The OECD further conveys its sincere appreciation to the project’s dedicated focal points in both MoHESR and MPED, who have helped set up ,the field missions, followed up on information requests, disseminated the chapters across the relevant entities and reviewed them to ensure consistency, alignment and accuracy: Hany Ayaad, former Executive Director of the Innovation Support Fund (ISF); Nancy Naguib, former Technical Office Director at MoHESR (ISF), Diaa Khalil, former Executive Director of the ISF; Maged Ghoneima, former Partnership and Marketing Manager, ISF, Heba Y. Hashem, Head of the Country Programme Monitoring Unit at MPED; Alia H. El Soudany, Senior Technical Projects Coordinator, Country Programme Monitoring Unit at MPED.
We also recognise the contribution of many individuals who generously gave their time and expertise through interviews and consultations, including Gena El Fiky, President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT); Walid Al-Zawawi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Scientific Research Centres and Institutes; Amr Farouk and Mohamed Ramadan of ASRT; Amr Hazzaar of the Ministry of Trade and Industry; Mohamed Moatamed of the Ministry of Environment – Innovation Industrial Council; Walaa Mohamed Sheta, Executive President of the Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF); Mohamed Attiyah and Ahmed Tantawy of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT); Hazem Gaber and Hisham Basha, Director of Digitization and Innovation, of the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC); Sherine M. Abd El-Kader Moharram of the Electronics Research Institute (ERI); Heba Zaky of the Egypt Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (EEIC); Alaa-Eldin M. Adris, Vice President for Strategic Development and Innovation at Nile University and Chairman of the Egyptian Centre for the Advancement of Science, Technology and Innovation (ECASTI); Heba Labib of Nile University; Yasser Hegazy, President of the German University in Cairo; Heba Garber of the EU Delegation to Egypt; Ayman Ismail, Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship and Associate Professor at the American University in Cairo School of Business; Tarek Tawfik of the Federation of Egyptian Industries; Amr Adly, President of the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST); Mohsen Ghali, Deputy Vice President of Research, E-JUST; and Reham ElDesoki, consultant.
The Review was prepared under the aegis of the OECD Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy (CSTP), with input from its working parties. It is a collective effort by the Science and Technology Policy Division of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation. Alan Paic served was team leader and overall co-ordinator assisted by Hyunkyeong Yun, leading the analytical work and drafting of the report. Chapter 1 was co-written by Alan Paic, Hyunkyeong Yun, Andrea-Rosalinde Hofer, Tasuku Sasaki, Kiljae Park, Mario Cervantes and Kato Kei. Chapter 2 was co-drafted by Andrea-Rosalinde Hofer, Alan Paic and Hyunkyeong Yun, Chapter 3 was co-authored by Mario Cervantes, Sasuku Tasaki and Kato Kei. Chapter 4 was co-authored by Andrea-Rosalinde Hofer and Alan Paic, while Kiljae Park drafted Chapter 5. The authors of Chapter 6 are Andrea-Rosalinde Hofer, Kiljae Park and Alan Paic, and Chapter 7 is the work of Hyunkyeong Yun.
Special thanks go to Yongsuk Jang, Chair of the CSTP and Senior research fellow of the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI), South Korea who provided very comprehensive peer review and capacity building seminars to Egyptian counterparts. Mlungisi Cele, Head of the National Advisory Council on Innovation, South Africa, also provided a peer review of the report.
The publication was produced under the guidance of Alessandra Colecchia, Head of the Science and Technology Policy Division. All chapters were reviewed by Alessandra Colecchia, Kévin Magron and Jerry Sheehan (OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation).
Sylvain Fraccola co-ordinated publication production and communication, and Blandine Serve co-ordinated the statistical inputs. The Review also benefited from comments provided by colleagues across the OECD secretariat, as well as CSTP delegates. Thanks are also due to Christian Biesmans for inputs to Chapter 1 and 2. The authors are grateful to Emily Acas and Kyriakos Vogiatzis (OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation) for their secretarial assistance. Special thanks are extended to Julie Harris for her editorial contributions.