Global Strategic Advisor
Dr. Ahmed M. Darwish
Former Minister of State for Administrative Development. Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Professor of Computer Engineering, Cairo University.
Governance, institutional development and digital transformation advisory at national and board level, delivered across the United Nations system, the OECD, the World Bank and the private sector.
Credentials
- Ph.D. Computer Engineering — University of California, Davis (1988)
- BSc and MSc — Cairo University (1981, 1984)
- Egyptian National Engineering Award (1999)
- Middle East Eminent Person, Singapore (2007)
- Lifetime Achievement, Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medal — University of California, Davis (2017)
Public Sector
Minister of State for Administrative Development
Cabinet innovator and reformer, leading Egypt’s administrative and digital government transformation programme.
Chairman, Suez Canal Economic Zone
Laid the institutional and regulatory foundation for one of Egypt’s most significant economic entities.
Professor of Computer Engineering, Cairo University
Serving 1999–2004, 2011–2015 and 2017 to the present.
Flagship Achievement
Assembled and led the team that designed and implemented the Egyptian Government Gateway, in partnership with Microsoft. Mr. Bill Gates inaugurated the Egyptian Gateway during a visit to Cairo.
Egypt’s rank on UN web services, out of 198 countries, between 2003 and 2010 — one of the most significant e-government advances recorded in UNPAN reporting for that period.
- First in the world to introduce Cash on Delivery in government services (2004)
- Introduced the single chip-based family card for Social Safety Nets benefits (2006)
- Pioneered the “push” model of government service delivery — anticipating citizen needs rather than waiting for requests (2007)
- Introduced GIS and statistical overlay techniques for state budget planning, later adopted in Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya and Nigeria
International Organizations
- UNICEF — Governance and restructuring of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (2026)
- ILO — Team Leader, Egypt Employment Strategy 2024–2026
- UNDP — Team Leader, Ministry of Planning and Ministry of Local Development strategy
- WHO — Restructuring of the General Authority for Health Care (2023)
- World Bank — State-owned enterprises, transition fund and related consulting
- OECD — Chaired the Good Governance for Development in the Arab World initiative (2005–2009)
OECD
European Union
ILO
UNDP
UNICEF
WHO
UNIDO
UNESCO
ESCWA
FAO
UNODC
Strategy Engagements
- Egypt 2030 — Founder of the National Strategy Document for Egypt, currently under implementation
- Microsoft Middle East & Africa Strategy — Main Consultant on a two-year engagement spanning 12 countries (2013)
- Banque du Caire — Board Member; shared in drafting the Bank Strategy 2013–2019
- Pico and Cheiron Petroleum — Lead Consultant on strategy (2012 and 2017)
- Misr Insurance Holding — Full development of the Information Strategy Plan for the holding company and its subsidiaries (2017–2021)
- Baheya Early Breast Cancer Detection Institute — Strategy lead (2020)
Speaking
83 keynotes delivered across 23 countries since 2002, including:
- Opening session speaker, SCO Conference on Digital Economy, Tianjin, China (2025)
- World Government Summit, Dubai — three appearances
- OECD “Making Reform Happen”, Paris — introduced by Secretary-General Angel Gurría as the most famous reformer in the Middle East
- Guest speaker at the American Chamber of Commerce Washington DC, British Chamber London and French Chamber Paris