Around 1,500 business leaders gathered in El-Alamein as African officials called for more investment within the continent. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said 85 percent of African private-sector transactions involve companies outside Africa. The three-day Alamein Africa Forum, held Oct. 2 to 4, brought officials, bankers and development institutions together to discuss trade, investment and financing growth.
The Capital on the Table
Al-Sisi said the private sector accounts for more than 70 percent of Africa’s gross domestic product, while businesses maintain stronger links to outside markets than to neighboring countries. He described the forum as a way to help African firms find opportunities closer to home and build cross-border partnerships.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union Commission, said intra-African trade reached $220 billion in 2024, equal to 14.4 percent of the continent’s trade. It grew 12.4 percent that year after contracting 5.9 percent in the previous year. “Africa can do much better,” Youssouf said.
The Egyptian government, the African Export-Import Bank and the African Union Development Agency co-organized the forum. Under an African Union mandate, it will become a biennial event, with work covering infrastructure, trade, agriculture, healthcare, mining, technology and renewable energy.
Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones held talks with investment agencies, industrial companies and development institutions. The meetings focused on cross-border investment, manufacturing and export corridors. GAFI CEO Mohamed Awad met Omar Rekkache, Director General of the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency, to discuss joint industrial ventures and combining production capacities to reach sub-Saharan markets.
A delegation from India’s Motherson Group also met GAFI officials. Gautam Mangar, the company’s Head of Business Development, said it was evaluating manufacturing opportunities in Egypt. Awad cited Egypt’s qualified workforce and industrial capabilities, while Waleed Anwar outlined investment incentives and the Free Zone System for companies targeting export markets.
Trade, Finance and Workers
Egypt and the countries covered by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development recorded $1.1 billion in trade in the first seven months of 2026, up from $1 billion in the same period in 2025, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. Egyptian exports to those countries totaled $891 million, compared with $901 million a year earlier; imports rose to $167 million from $114 million.
CAPMAS reported that investment by NEPAD countries in Egypt reached $190.7 million in fiscal year 2024/2025, up from $39 million in fiscal year 2023/2024. Egyptian investment in NEPAD countries rose to $251 million from $143.3 million. Remittances from Egyptians working in those countries reached $27 million, compared with $20.4 million, while remittances from workers from NEPAD countries in Egypt were $10.8 million, up from $9.9 million.
Awad and the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade met Haytham El Maayergi, Executive Vice President of the African Export-Import Bank, to discuss market access for Egyptian small and medium-sized enterprises, trade finance and export guarantees. They also discussed support for early-stage technology startups seeking to expand across the continent.
Mohamed Farid, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, met Admassu Tadesse, President of the Trade and Development Bank Group, to discuss financing tools for Egyptian companies and exporters seeking African markets. Participants also discussed possible financing for non-banking financial companies and ways to identify companies’ financing needs through export councils and relevant authorities.
Cities and the Public-Private Plan
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Africa’s urban population is projected to double by 2050 and urged governments to treat cities as economic, social and environmental systems. “The question we must ask isn't just how to accommodate urban growth, but how to turn this growth into a driving force for comprehensive development and structural transformation in our economies,” he said.
Madbouly cited the New Administrative Capital, New Alamein and New Mansoura as examples of Egypt’s “fourth-generation cities.” He also pointed to Egyptian firms’ infrastructure work in Africa, including the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant in Tanzania, road and bridge projects in Uganda, and the Winneba-Takoradi road project in Ghana.
Madbouly said governments alone can't close the funding gap for infrastructure and housing, calling for partnerships among governments, private companies and development finance institutions. He urged directing long-term capital to sustainable infrastructure and affordable housing, and said Egypt’s 2025/26 fiscal plan targets 310,000 new housing units, including 285,000 for social housing.
Officials estimate Egyptian investments in Africa at around $14 billion, including the $3 billion Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project. The summit also took place amid Egypt’s effort to gain broader African support in its dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Cairo says the dam threatens its share of Nile waters and calls for a binding agreement governing its operation; Ethiopia says the dam is essential for economic development.