Etisalat Egypt inked a EGP4 billion ($132.4 million) financing agreement with Commercial International Bank, with the operator set to use the cash to expand infrastructure and push digital services.

The operator indicated the cash would aid its efforts to meet the changing needs of consumers in the market, including growing data usage alongside creating so-called innovative digital services.

It also cited a wider aim to support the Digital Egypt project, a state-promoted initiative to push digital transformation and promote related skills in the country’s population. It is broadly aligned with Egypt’s Vision 2030 economic ambitions.

Etisalat Egypt CEO Hazem Metwally added the company was “keen on investing in infrastructure that provides the best integrated technology services to our customers, and keeps pace with the huge increase in data usage rates across Egypt”.

In parent company e&’s latest annual report, for 2021, it described Egypt’s communications market as offering “a mixture of strong advanced services demand as well as considerable room for healthy organic growth”.

It highlighted a youthful population and healthy demographics able to support further growth in mobile data and related value added services.