The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is visiting Stockholm this week 30-31 May. The 13 person delegation is headed by HE the Deputy Governor of the CBE, Lobna Helal, and includes other senior officials from the CBE and the Egyptian banking, credit, and fintech sector. During the visit the delegation is meeting with its counterparts at the Central Bank of Sweden, the Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen), banks, fintech hubs and other key stakeholders.
Egypt is an important trading partner for Sweden, with Egypt ranked among the 26 priority countries in the Swedish Government's trade strategy. Egypt, with its ambitious agenda for economic reform, including financial inclusion, is a highly dynamic actor in the Middle East and Africa. Sweden is a world leader when it comes to fintech solutions, innovation and in unicorn creation. During the two-day visit, the Egyptian delegation will get insights into regulatory, technological and societal aspects of Sweden's work towards a cashless society through exchanges with key stakeholders within government, academia and the private sector.
Sweden is one of the world's most financially inclusive societies, with an account penetration of 100 % and internet or mobile access at over 98 %. Stockholm is a world leading start-up hub and has a particularly strong foothold in fintech with companies such as Tieto, iZettle and Klarna. Sweden, which has been placed no. 1 in the European Commission's Innovation Scoreboard, has produced more unicorns per capita than any other country in the world. Sweden's work towards a cashless society has drawn international attention, particularly since it embodies the Swedish triple helix model. Government, academia and private enterprises have joined forces in creating technical and regulatory frameworks that allow citizens and enterprises to have easy and cheap access to integrated e-payment solutions, e-government services and e-banking all through a government backed electronic-id system that is jointly managed by the majority of Swedish banks.
The visit to Sweden is a first step in a long-term exchange between Egypt and Sweden in this sector.
"Fintech is a key sector for Swedish-Egyptian cooperation. By working together, Egypt will be able to make both a quantitative and a qualitative leap when it comes to digital economy and financial inclusion. We are proud to be your partner," said the Ambassador of Sweden to Egypt, Jan Thesleff, who is accompanying the Egyptian delegation to Sweden.