Egypt on its way to digitally empowered future: IBM’s Lula Mohanty

Egypt’s digital transformation is no longer a vision; it is rapidly becoming a reality. From AI-powered government platforms to national-scale health initiatives, the country is emerging as a model for tech-enabled development in the region.

During the Africa Health ExCon, Mohanty also revealed how IBM is partnering with key national institutions to drive citizen-centric innovation, elevate service delivery, and build a skilled workforce ready for an AI-first future.

Ahram Online: With technology driving transformation across industries, what are some of the most common challenges enterprises face when embarking on large-scale digital initiatives, and how does IBM Consulting help them overcome these?

Lula Mohanty: Enterprises remain deeply committed to advancing AI across their organizations, even as they navigate the complexities of rapid technology adoption.

According to the IBM Institute for Business Value 2025 CEO Study, rising investment has not yet translated into widespread success; only 25 percent of AI initiatives have met expected returns, and just 16 percent have scaled enterprise-wide.

Fifty percent of CEOs report that the rapid pace of AI deployment has resulted in disconnected and fragmented technologies.

The pressure to keep up is also driving premature decisions; 64 percent admit to investing in AI technologies before fully understanding their value.

Talent remains a significant constraint, with 54 percent of CEOs hiring for AI-related roles that did not exist a year ago, and 31 percent of the workforce expected to need reskilling within the next three years.

Meanwhile, 72 percent of leaders recognize their proprietary data as the key to unlocking generative AI’s full potential, highlighting the urgency for robust, integrated data strategies to realize long-term value.

IBM Consulting is tackling enterprise AI challenges by expanding its consultants’ expertise and leveraging IBM Consulting Advantage, its AI-powered delivery platform.

This platform integrates with open-source, multi-cloud systems to enable large-scale AI execution.

In just one year, it has reached over 85,000 users, produced more than 2,000 digital assistants, and created over 60 industry-specific applications, many of which were built in partnership with companies such as Adobe, AWS, Microsoft, Salesforce, and SAP.

This people-plus-software approach embeds AI into workflows for tasks like code modernization, compliance, and complex delivery.

AO: Egypt is rapidly positioning itself as a regional digital hub with growing interest in cloud, AI, and government modernization. How is IBM Consulting aligning with this momentum, and what are your immediate priorities for the Egyptian market?

LM: Egypt is undergoing a remarkable digital transformation, with strong momentum across public sector modernization, cloud adoption, and artificial intelligence.

At IBM Consulting, we are closely aligning with this national ambition by supporting clients on high-impact transformation journeys, particularly where technology can enhance access, efficiency, and citizen outcomes.

In the public sector, we have partnered with the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with our strategic partner SAP to implement an integrated platform based on the SAP Tax and Revenue Management for Public Sector solution.

The platform is designed to automate business operations, streamline workflows, and enhance the citizen experience, with a successful pilot implemented across 10 tax offices in Greater Cairo.

In the energy sector, we have signed a cooperation agreement with ENPPI to support digital transformation in Egypt’s oil and gas industries. This collaboration aims to enhance operational efficiency and innovation in one of the country’s most strategic sectors, with the potential to impact the broader Middle East.

These initiatives reflect our broader commitment to bring trusted, scalable technology and consulting expertise to Egypt’s most vital institutions, while investing in local talent, delivery capabilities, and ecosystem partnerships that can sustain long-term progress.

Egypt is a key market for us, and we are proud to be helping shape its digital future.

AO: As participants in Africa ExCon, to what extent have the tech solutions boosted the healthcare industry across Africa?

LM: IBM Consulting has witnessed firsthand how technology, particularly AI, is accelerating the transformation of healthcare systems across the continent.

In today’s volatile and interconnected world, Africa’s healthcare systems must be both agile and resilient.

At IBM, we view AI not merely as a tool for efficiency but as a catalyst for sovereignty and long-term transformation of the healthcare system.

Across the pharmaceutical value chain, AI is revolutionizing how medicine is made, managed, and delivered.

Generative AI and agentic workflows are reducing regulatory documentation timelines from months to weeks. Moreover, AI-powered simulations of clinical trials enable faster and more cost-effective access to life-saving treatments.

In procurement, predictive AI tools now integrate real-time data, ranging from disease trends to human migration patterns, enabling more intelligent forecasting and more proactive decision-making.

This shift from reactive to predictive healthcare helps prevent shortages and overstocking of essential medical supplies.

Furthermore, IBM’s work in privacy-preserving AI is unlocking new possibilities in low-data environments.

Through federated learning and synthetic data models, we generate reliable insights without transferring sensitive health data across borders, thereby respecting national data sovereignty while enhancing decision-making capabilities.

In terms of supply chain transparency, platforms like Pulse by NABP™, developed in collaboration with IBM Consulting, ensure end-to-end traceability of medicines, reduce counterfeit risks, and create a trusted ecosystem that connects all healthcare stakeholders.

Health intelligence begins with the collection of large-scale, trusted data.

In Egypt, landmark initiatives such as the 100 Million Healthy Lives campaign are laying the groundwork for transformative national health insights.

With access to vast patient datasets, AI can help uncover population-level trends, forecast health risks, and support proactive disease management, particularly for chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.

This kind of health data infrastructure is crucial for building preventive, insight-driven systems across the continent.