As part of a wider drive to double e-commerce by 2020, the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is planning to usher in new regulatory controls for online transactions, according to a report published by Al-Monitor.
A bill introduced by Ali al-Kayal, a member of the Industry Committee in early December, is seeking to protect citizens from fraudulent transactions as well as impose taxes on e-tailers.
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Hisham Safwat, CEO of Jumia Egypt, estimated that just 2 percent of Egypt’s e-commerce market was regulated, with the vast majority of online businesses failing to pay taxes or adhere to advertising standards. “The draft law submitted by Kayal targets entities that do not have headquarters on Egyptian territory or are not registered,” he told Al-Monitor.
Egypt saw rapid growth in online sales over the course of 2017, with the market now estimated to be worth between US$4 billion and US$5 billion. The fastest growing categories are electronics, cosmetics, groceries and fashion.