The platform was jointly developed by the Ministry of Local Development and Environment (MLD), the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development to simplify licensing procedures for public shop owners.
Egypt has officially launched the Public Shop Licensing System on the Digital Egypt platform, marking a significant step in the country’s digital transformation agenda. The new system, which uses the digital treasury system, was unveiled by Minister of Local Development and Environment Manal Awad and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hendy during a ceremony held at the Ministry of Local Development’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital.
The platform was jointly developed by the Ministry of Local Development and Environment (MLD), the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development to simplify licensing procedures for public shop owners. The initiative aims to streamline the application process, reduce bureaucracy, and improve access to government services for businesses.
According to the government, the new digital system introduces a single platform for managing the entire licensing process, standardizes licensing procedures nationwide, enables applicants to track their applications in real time, and establishes a maximum three-month timeframe for approvals. It also allows shop owners to receive immediate temporary operating permits while the remaining approvals are processed, with licenses issued electronically through the Digital Egypt platform. Authorities that fail to respond within the specified timeframe will be deemed to have granted implicit approval, in accordance with the law.
The initiative is also expected to support Egypt’s efforts to integrate informal businesses into the formal economy by creating comprehensive databases for public and commercial shops. The government announced that licensing fees have been standardized across participating agencies, while the Ministry of Interior has reduced applicable service fees by 50% to encourage wider adoption. Temporary licenses will also be issued to commercial establishments operating in buildings with unresolved legal status until the end of 2027 or until their legal position is regularized.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology highlighted the launch as another milestone in the development of Egypt’s digital public infrastructure. The Public Shop Licensing System is the first government service to use the country’s digital treasury system to reuse verified digital documents, implementing the “Once-Only Principle” that eliminates the need for citizens and businesses to repeatedly submit the same documents across multiple government services.
The Digital Egypt platform currently offers more than 240 digital government services to over 12 million users and is supported by an integrated digital infrastructure connecting 105 government entities and more than 100 government databases. Officials said the digital treasury system will be extended to additional government services in the future as part of Egypt’s broader vision for a connected, paperless government that delivers more efficient and secure digital public services.
