Outsourcing to Egypt: costs, profiles and cities (2026)

Page updated on 21 October 2026. Public data checked; sources at the end of the page.

More than 195,000 people work in Egyptian outsourced service centres (official statement, mid-2026). The country is 2 h ahead of London for most of the year. This is what attracts European companies that want to outsource customer service or development to Egypt. The private-sector minimum wage is EGP 7,000 a month, or about €115. Against that, the pound has lost a great deal of its value since 2022, measured English is weak and the provision of staff is regulated by law. The page also sets out cities, time zone, languages and law, with their sources.

Egypt at a glance: key figures

Why outsource to Egypt?

A large sector

The authorities count 252 outsourcing companies (177 of them foreign), 282 centres and more than 195,000 employees in mid-2026 (Ahram Online, 26 August 2026). Teleperformance (more than 26,800 employees), Concentrix (about 24,000), VOIS and Sutherland are present there, according to their own statements. Kearney ranks Egypt 23rd out of 78 countries in 2023 (Le360 Afrique; latest edition found), first in Africa, against 15th in 2021.

Rising exports, diverging figures

Exports for 2025 are put at USD 4.8 billion in November 2025 (ITWeb Africa). Outsource Accelerator gives 5.14 billion at the end of 2025, and the Minister of Communications 5.2 billion on 21 July 2026 (Ahram Online). The November estimate predates the close of the year. Targets diverge too. The minister aims for 8 billion in 2028 (21 July 2026) and the ministry for 6 billion in 2026 (Ahram Online, 26 August 2026). Figures relayed in February 2026 (Outsource Accelerator) announce 12 billion in 2029.

A young talent pool, falling public support

The median age is 24.7 (2026) and about 750,000 higher-education graduates enter the labour market every year (Zawya, single source). The agency ITIDA has aimed since 2022 to triple the sector's exports and create more than 215,000 jobs. But its hiring subsidy for the first tier falls from 100% (2022-2023) to 40% in 2026 (unfinalised WTO/ECLAC working paper).

The limits to know about

• Measured English is weak (458 in the 2025 EF index).
• The provision of staff is regulated, the pound has lost a large part of its value since 2022 and the personal data regime is in transition.
• The 2026 context includes a conflict involving Iran and energy-saving measures.

The job market in Egypt

National unemployment is 5.8% in the second quarter of 2026 (6.0% in the first), according to the institute CAPMAS. It is 3.4% among men, 14.4% among women, 8.8% in cities and 3.5% in the countryside. The ILO model gives 6.8% in 2025, 18.3% among 15-24-year-olds (2025) and 13.2% among higher-education graduates (2024).

The informal sector is large: 18.7 million people out of 29.2 million employed in the first quarter of 2024 (ministerial statement).

How much does an employee cost in Egypt?

Conversions use €1 = 61.08 EGP (XE, 21 October 2026); at the 2025 average rate, EGP 7,000 was worth about €126.

The legal private-sector minimum wage is EGP 7,000 a month (about €115) since 1 March 2025. It was set by the National Wages Council (Ministry of Planning) and confirmed by the Ministry of Labour on 5 July 2026. The Prime Minister announced on 1 April 2026 a minimum of EGP 8,000 "from July". According to the Ministry of Labour (5 July 2026), it applies to state employees, not the private sector; many websites confuse the two. Employer contributions are 18.75% of the insurance salary (11% on the employee's side). The insurance salary is between EGP 2,700 and EGP 16,700 a month in 2026 (Andersen Egypt).

These ranges come from a single salary guide (mafeshsho8l, 2026; job ads and user data, 25th to 75th percentile). No consultancy survey is freely available. The junior-to-senior gap is 4.0 for customer service, 4.2 to 4.5 for accounting and 5.3 to 5.6 for development.

Benchmark for a beginner, gross per month. In France: €1,867.02 for a call centre agent (SMIC, the legal minimum wage) and €2,667 to €2,917 for an accountant. A developer in Île-de-France earns €3,167 to €3,750. In the United Kingdom: €1,988, €2,386 and €2,684 for the same jobs. Sources are heterogeneous and employer cost is not quantified: no percentage saving is calculated.

And with MaaSil?

A market salary is not the cost of a service. MaaSil applies its public price list, identical for all countries. General profiles cost €55 to €100 excl. VAT per day (about €1,150 excl. VAT per month). Senior IT developers cost €120 to €250 excl. VAT per day (about €2,600 excl. VAT per month). See the pricing page. These prices are not specific to Egypt.

Which cities should you choose for outsourcing to Egypt?

Cairo and Giza

The urban area has 25.6 million inhabitants (2025 estimate by Worldometer, based on the UN). The Smart Village park (Giza) hosts, among others, the Ministry of Communications and the Egyptian Exchange.

Alexandria

The city has 7.3 million inhabitants. It is a major hub: Teleperformance (more than 4,000 employees), Concentrix (3,747), Sutherland (about 6,000) and VOIS (1,100).

Assiut

This Upper Egypt city has 1.4 million inhabitants. Its technology park, New Assiut, hosted the operator iSON Xperiences and its 700 employees in 2024.

Mansoura

This Delta city has 1.7 million inhabitants. Concentrix plans to open a site there (ITIDA announcement of 29 January 2025); the project had not been completed at the date of this page.

What is the time difference with Europe?

Egypt is 2 h ahead of London, except a few days a year: UTC+2 in winter, UTC+3 during its summer time (24 April to 29 October 2026).

Shared hours assume working days of 9am to 6pm on both sides. The clock change dates differ between Egypt and Europe (29 March and 25 October 2026). From 29 March to 23 April 2026, the gap with London was +1 h (8 shared hours). From 25 to 29 October 2026, it will be +3 h (6 shared hours), because Egypt stays on UTC+3. The Egyptian weekend falls on Friday and Saturday: only Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are working days on both sides. The time zone database provides for no clock change linked to Ramadan; working hours during Ramadan have not been documented.

Languages and skills available

Arabic is the official language; English dominates contact centres (92 to 98% of customer service ads on the job site WUZZUF in recent years). The 2025 EF index gives 458 points, or 89th place out of 123 and a "low" level. It measures adults taking an online test, not agents. In 2025, ads requiring fluent English pay 2.4 times more than those with no English or basic English.

Single source, gross or net not specified, small samples for German and French; Italian is not published. Egypt is therefore not cheap for rarer languages.

About 420,000 people are learning German in Egypt (undated estimate by the German Foreign Office). About 19,000 are studying German or training to teach it at 36 universities. A learner is not a professional-level speaker: the number of German-speaking agents and their level cannot be found. Concentrix states that it operates in 12 languages, including German. The percentage of French speakers cannot be found.

Infrastructure: internet, electricity, technology parks

Internet. The median speed is 107.71 Mbit/s fixed (68th in the world) and 53.69 Mbit/s mobile (77th) in September 2026 (Ookla). According to the research centre CSIS, more than 90% of Europe-Asia communications transit through Egypt. Several Red Sea cables were cut in September 2025; the effect on Egyptian speeds cannot be found.

Electricity. Access is 100% (2024). According to the Minister of Petroleum, the summers of 2025 and 2026 passed without load shedding (EnterpriseAM, single source). In spring 2026, to save energy, the state closed shops at 9pm from 28 March. It asked eligible employees to work from home on Sundays from 1 April (Al Jazeera). The status of these measures as of 21 October cannot be found.

Technology parks. Smart Village (Giza) and New Assiut: see the cities.

Data protection and employment law

Personal data

Law No. 151 of 2020 governs the electronic processing of individuals' data; the authority is the Personal Data Protection Centre (PDPC). According to the translation of the text, a transfer outside Egypt requires an equivalent level of protection and a licence from the Centre (Articles 14 to 16). Processing or transferring without authorisation is punishable by a fine of EGP 100,000 to 1,000,000 (about €1,640 to €16,370). The implementing regulation (Ministerial Decision No. 816 of 2025) was issued on 1 November 2025 and made public on 25 December 2025. It opens a one-year compliance period, which expires on 1 November 2026 on a strict reading (law firm CMS). That firm notes some uncertainty about the starting point.

The European Commission has adopted no adequacy decision for Egypt: transfers from the European Union go through standard contractual clauses. The case of an Egyptian provider processing European clients' data remains to be checked.

Employment law

The Labour Code (Law No. 14 of 2025) has been in force since 1 September 2025. According to the unofficial English translation by the law firm Andersen, the maximum working time is 48 hours a week (Article 117). Paid leave is 15 days in the first year, then 21 days (Article 124), and the probation period lasts three months at most (Article 90).

Provision of staff

Article 45 prohibits establishments from employing workers through a contractor or a labour-supply subcontractor. It reserves Article 40, which allows private recruitment agencies approved by the ministry. Approval requires a majority of Egyptians among the founders and directors, who hold at least 51% of the capital. A guarantee deposit of EGP 1 million (about €16,400, Article 41) is also required. Operating without a licence is punishable by imprisonment, a fine of EGP 20,000 to 100,000 (about €330 to €1,640), or both (Article 291). The law firms Sadany & Partners and Amereller confirm that this regime remains in place; Global Law Experts points out that the reality of the relationship prevails over the label of the contract.

The sources read do not establish whether Article 45 applies to a client established outside Egypt who directs day to day employees hired by an Egyptian provider. We found no public opinion on this type of arrangement. Have the arrangement checked by an Egyptian lawyer before any recruitment in the country.

Practical information: currency, public holidays, flights and visas

Currency. The Egyptian pound (EGP) has been floating since 6 March 2024. The annual average for €1 was 20.31 EGP in 2022, 33.27 in 2023, 49.20 in 2024 and 55.63 in 2025 (Eurostat), then 61.08 on 21 October 2026 (XE). Annual urban inflation is 14.5% in August 2026 (CAPMAS). The International Monetary Fund's USD 8 billion programme expires on 15 December 2026 (Rio Times, single source).

Public holidays. No official count was found. Many holidays are moved to Thursday by decision of the Prime Minister.

Flights. Paris-Cairo takes 4 h 30, with Air France (1 daily flight) and EgyptAir (2) (FlightsFrom, single source).

Visa. A French citizen can obtain a visa on arrival: USD 30 for a single entry, in cash (France Diplomatie, 21 September 2026). The tourist visa does not allow work; the rules for a business trip cannot be found.

Safety. France Diplomatie describes a "permanent and diffuse" terrorist threat (21 September 2026). The British Foreign Office does not advise against Cairo or Alexandria, but does against North Sinai and the areas near the Libyan border (4 August 2026).

Egypt compared with other African destinations

Euros are calculated with the Eurostat 2025 annual average to compare at the same rate (at the day's rate, EGP 7,000 is worth €115). Minimum wages have different time bases and do not measure labour costs. Speeds are for March 2026 for all countries (Egypt in September 2026: 107.71 / 53.69).

• Morocco: Egypt is ranked better by Kearney (23rd against 28th) and has lower modelled unemployment, but weaker English and mobile speed. See outsourcing to Morocco.
• Tunisia: modelled unemployment of 6.8% against 15.1%, weaker English (458 against 498). See outsourcing to Tunisia.
• South Africa: 23rd in the Kearney ranking against 59th, but much weaker English (89th against 13th). See outsourcing to South Africa.

How MaaSil recruits in Egypt

MaaSil states that it recruits in Egypt remotely and relies on a business manager based in the country. According to MaaSil, the selection is the same as for its consultants in Madagascar (see the home page), in four stages:

1. pre-selection (MaaSil states that it presents the "top 1%" of the CVs received);
2. two interviews;
3. technical tests;
4. presentation of the candidate to the client.

MaaSil announces about one month to recruit and about four weeks for full autonomy. According to MaaSil, its consultants are 100% integrated into the client's teams, which direct the assignments day to day; MaaSil handles recruitment, payroll, HR follow-up and coordination. These statements are not verified by a third party. The premises, internet and power backups and GDPR framework that MaaSil advertises concern Madagascar, not Egypt. See Why us and contact.

Which jobs can you outsource to Egypt?

• Customer service: the core of the Egyptian sector, mainly in English (median of ads: EGP 13,500, or €221). See customer service officer and the article on call centre outsourcing.
• Development: EGP 20,000 to 40,000 a month at mid-level (€327 to €655), single source. See full stack developer.
• Accounting: EGP 12,000 to 22,000 at mid-level (€196 to €360). See accountant.
• IT support: no reliable salary data found, as for the administrative assistant. See IT support technician.

FAQ: outsourcing to Egypt

Sources and methodology

This page was written by MaaSil Inc, an outsourcing company, from public data consulted on 21 October 2026 (statistical institutes, international organisations, salary guides). Figures change; found a mistake? Write to us via our contact page.

• SIS, second-quarter 2026 unemployment
• Ahram Online, 2025 outsourcing exports
• Outsource Accelerator, exports and targets
• mafeshsho8l, 2026 salary guide
• WUZZUF, salaries by language
• EF, English Proficiency Index 2025
• Ookla, Speedtest Global Index Egypt
• European Commission, adequacy decisions