The growth of Egypt’s digital service export sector has become increasingly prominent, with approximately 200,000 professionals currently engaged in delivering these services to international markets. This information was shared by Raafat Hindi, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, at the opening of the ninth DevOpsDays Cairo 2026 conference.
Egypt’s Development Landscape
During his address, Hindi highlighted the significance of developer expertise in Egypt as a key asset that drives multinational corporations to expand their operations within the country. He pointed out that the theme of this year’s conference, “Sustainable DevOps Methodologies in the Era of Agentic AI,” reflects the shifting landscape in software development, particularly with the increasing involvement of autonomous AI systems in various coding and testing tasks. The minister raised critical questions about how to maintain human oversight and accountability, manage energy usage and computing resources, and ensure cybersecurity compliance in this evolving environment.
Innovations in AI and Development
As a testament to Egypt’s technological progress, Hindi introduced “Karnak,” the first large language model (LLM) developed by local engineers. This innovative model is designed to understand both classical and colloquial Egyptian Arabic, showcasing how local talent is contributing to global technological advancements. He stressed the crucial role of DevOps engineers in transforming these technological achievements into sustainable and reliable services for users.
Ahmed El-Zaher, the CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), also spoke on the transformation being driven by Agentic AI. He emphasized that today’s software systems are evolving from mere assistance tools to independent entities that can execute tasks and make decisions autonomously. This transition calls for new work methodologies, governance frameworks, and ongoing investments in specialized skills to adapt to the changing landscape.
Conference Insights and Future Directions
The ninth edition of the DevOpsDays Cairo conference features an impressive lineup of 66 speakers, including 13 international experts from nine different countries. Organized by ITIDA’s Software Engineering Competence Center (SECC), the event takes place at the Creativa Innovation Hub in Giza. Notably, Cairo has become the only Arab city to host the DevOpsDays series, which spans over 60 cities worldwide.
The agenda is structured around four main tracks that delve into the implications of Agentic AI on DevOps: cost and environmental sustainability, human sustainability and governance, reliability and security, and tools and infrastructure. Attendees can also look forward to three engaging panel discussions focused on governance, corporate culture, and organizational challenges, along with three specialized workshops to enhance skills and knowledge in the field.
Wrapping up the conference, a competition will be held to recognize teams excelling in the application of DevOps and AI to foster automation and innovation. Out of 142 teams that applied, 20 reached the finals, evenly split between ten student teams and ten professional graduate teams. A distinguished panel of 12 judges, composed of six Egyptian and six international experts, will evaluate the finalists.
The event is set to be attended by significant figures in the sector, including SECC Head Haitham Hamza, ITIDA officials, and IT and software development managers from both local and global businesses. The collective efforts at this conference underscore Egypt’s commitment to remaining at the forefront of digital innovation in the age of AI.