Egypt’s Currency Journey from 2016 to 2023 (EGP to USD)
By Lucidity Insights Research Team 25 March 2024

Egypt’s Currency Journey from 2016 to 2023 (EGP to USD)

The Egyptian currency has witnessed major volatility in the past two years in particular, after enjoying a relatively stable currency position since the Egyptian Pound adopted a free-float approach in November 2016.

The Egyptian Pound has changed its pegging to numerous standards, starting with the gold standard from 1885 to 1914, to the British pound from 1914 to 1962, and to the US dollar from 1962 to 1989, until it was eventually floated.

While the currency was floated, it was tightly managed by the Central Bank of Egypt until 2001, subsequently which the country depended on utilizing policies to manage the float.

Eventually the Central Bank was forced to end the managed-float regime to adopt a free float in November 2016, a move that caused the Egyptian Pound to fall twofold in value.

Related Report

Investing in Egypt’s Startup Ecosystem

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises contribute over 40% to Egypt’s economy, and account for over 75% of the country’s total employment. Entrepreneurship is critical to Egypt’s future. Today, Egypt consistently ranks as a top 3 tech startup ecosystem in both the MENA and Africa regions, based on funds raised by local startups. In this special report, we speak to the most active investors in Egypt and cover some of the country’s most successful startups to give you an inside scoop on how they are navigating the current VC winter, inflationary pressures and currency devaluation woes.