Key summary — What to know
Egypt's government is connecting entities, databases and services at speed, and electronic signature and seal services are now live. Every one of those services still relies on records, and many of those records are paper. Institutions that digitize their archives now will be ready when their services go fully online.
Picture an institution that has just moved a service onto a digital platform. Requests now arrive online, and some are electronically signed. But the files those requests refer to (contracts, decisions, licenses from ten years ago) are still in folders downstairs.
Half the service is digital. The other half is a walk to the archive room.
Where Digital Egypt Stands in 2026
In July 2026, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly reviewed the government's digital transformation plan. The Minister of Communications and Information Technology reported that:
- 105 government entities are now connected through the Government Digital Hub.
- 100 national databases have been linked.
- The Digital Egypt platform offers 242 services and handled about 20 million transactions since the start of 2026.
- Electronic signature and seal services have launched, linked to the national digital identity system, and a Digital Mailbox is nearly ready.
All of this sits under Egypt Vision 2030, the national plan that frames the state's digital transformation.
Sources: Digital Egypt figures — July 19, 2026 report
Why Electronic Signatures Change the Archive
Egypt's E-Signature Law (Law No. 15 of 2004) gives electronic signatures their legal footing. In 2020, amendments to its executive regulations added the e-seal and time-stamp services, so documents can carry an institution's seal and a verified date and time.
That matters for archives in a simple way. A signed electronic document is a record from the moment it's signed. It needs to be stored, described, protected and found later, just like a signed paper original. And the paper originals don't disappear. They still need to be digitized and kept findable alongside the new electronic records.
Sources: ITIDA — E-Seal and Time Stamp Services, June 11, 2020
Three Kinds of Records Every Egyptian Institution Now Holds
| Record | Where it usually sits | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Paper backlog | Archive rooms, boxes, off-site storage | Scanning, indexing and quality review, then a searchable archive |
| Scanned but undescribed files | Shared drives, email attachments | Index data, so people can search by name, date or party |
| Born-digital and e-signed records | Inboxes, portals, individual PCs | A governed archive with access control and a clear status |
Most institutions hold all three at once, and each needs a different kind of work. The mistake is to treat them as one problem or to fix only the newest one.
How ELArchive Supports Institutions in Egypt
ELArchive, our archiving platform, was built in Cairo. It has run in production since 2008 at government and private-sector institutions in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and IT-Blocks supports it from Cairo and Riyadh.
For the paper backlog. Our teams scan, index and check backlogs directly on ELArchive. Quality control verifies page counts, image legibility and index data before any document enters the archive, and anything rejected goes back with a recorded reason.
For scanned files nobody described. ELArchive reads the text on scanned pages in Arabic and English, so a search can find any word on the page. Administrators also define document types and index fields, with validation rules that stop incomplete records.
For born-digital records. ELArchive accepts TIFF, PDF and JPG. Each document carries a live status (pending, accepted, rejected or ready for review) and shows who created it.
For access. You decide who can view, download or print each file, by user and group, and which departments' files each user can see. Users sign in with their existing Active Directory accounts.
Start Where Services Meet the Archive
List the services your institution has moved online, or plans to. For each one, write down the records an employee needs to complete a request. Records that are still on paper are your first digitization batch. Records that exist only as scans or email attachments are your first indexing batch.
Bring that list to a scoping call. We'll help you size the backlog behind it and plan the order of work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Digital Egypt?
Digital Egypt is the government's national platform and program for moving public services online. In July 2026 it offered 242 services and connected 105 government entities through the Government Digital Hub.
What is Egypt Vision 2030?
It is Egypt's national development plan. Digital transformation of government services is one of its central programs.
Are electronic signatures legal in Egypt?
Yes. Law No. 15 of 2004 regulates electronic signatures, and 2020 amendments to its executive regulations added e-seal and time-stamp services. Legal counsel should confirm what applies to a specific document.
Do electronically signed documents need archiving?
Yes. A signed electronic document is a record from the moment it's signed, and it needs to be stored, described, protected and retrievable like any signed original.
Can ELArchive handle both paper and digital records?
Yes. IT-Blocks digitizes paper backlogs directly on ELArchive, and the platform accepts TIFF, PDF and JPG files.
Where is ELArchive supported in Egypt?
From IT-Blocks' headquarters in Cairo.
Moving services online with paper still behind them?
Start with the records your services wait for. We'll help you plan the backlog around them.
Book a scoping call