Blab Tech
Egyptian Businesses Set to Invest in Agentic Commerce Despite Low Awareness, Visa Survey Shows
When a new Visa‑backed survey shows that more than 83 % of Egyptian firms are already planning to invest in agentic commerce, the contrast between enthusiasm and ignorance is striking.
The study, titled State of Agentic Commerce in the Middle East, was carried out by Fast Company Middle East’s research lab Probity in partnership with Visa. It gathered responses from 750 senior executives across retail, consumer products, travel and hospitality, and banking and financial services in Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Agentic commerce refers to AI systems that can act, decide and complete transactions on behalf of users or organisations without real‑time human intervention. In the Egyptian sample, 55.7 % of respondents said they were either interested or strongly interested in emerging commerce technologies such as AI‑driven personalization and autonomous transactions.
Yet only 27.2 % of Egyptian executives reported being quite or very familiar with agentic commerce, compared with 29.4 % in the UAE and 23.7 % in Saudi Arabia. The gap between awareness and intent indicates that businesses are beginning to assess the commercial potential of the technology even as it remains relatively new to many decision‑makers.
Concrete plans are already emerging. Sixteen point one percent of Egyptian organisations said they intend to launch an agentic commerce pilot within the next six months, versus 11.7 % in the UAE and more than 43 % in Saudi Arabia. Revenue growth is the primary expected benefit for Egyptian and Saudi firms, while UAE companies emphasise customer loyalty and retention.
"We are seeing early but meaningful signs of a shift in Egypt as businesses start to embrace agentic commerce to unlock the next level of value," said Malak El Baba, country manager at Visa Egypt. "At Visa, we view this as the next step in seamless transactions. While commerce becomes more intelligent and autonomous, our role is to keep payments frictionless, inclusive, and secure," she added.
The scale of planned spending remains cautious. About nine percent of Egyptian businesses surveyed intend to make strategic investments of more than $1 million. Most are targeting moderate investments of $250,000 to $500,000. In the UAE, intentions are more evenly split between moderate ($250,000–$500,000) and significant ($500,000–$1 million) levels, and Saudi Arabia shows a similar pattern.
Barriers to adoption are dominated by data privacy and security concerns, followed by uncertainty over returns on investment and regulatory risks. Governance and trust issues outweigh technological limitations, while access to skills and tools ranks lower.
More than 70 % of Egyptian respondents expect agentic commerce to have at least a moderate impact on their industries within the next two years. Saudi Arabia shows a similar expectation of disruption, and UAE businesses anticipate the technology could reach a tipping point.
Industry‑specific case studies are seen as an important factor for encouraging adoption in Egypt, while UAE firms emphasise measurable returns on investment and Saudi companies look to peer recommendations and success stories.
In short, the survey reveals a strong willingness among Egyptian firms to invest in agentic commerce, driven by expectations of revenue growth and improved customer experience. However, awareness remains low and data privacy, security and regulatory uncertainty are the primary obstacles. The coming months will likely see a handful of pilots and modest investment rolls, with larger commitments waiting on clearer evidence of return and stronger governance frameworks.
The study, titled State of Agentic Commerce in the Middle East, was carried out by Fast Company Middle East’s research lab Probity in partnership with Visa. It gathered responses from 750 senior executives across retail, consumer products, travel and hospitality, and banking and financial services in Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Agentic commerce refers to AI systems that can act, decide and complete transactions on behalf of users or organisations without real‑time human intervention. In the Egyptian sample, 55.7 % of respondents said they were either interested or strongly interested in emerging commerce technologies such as AI‑driven personalization and autonomous transactions.
Yet only 27.2 % of Egyptian executives reported being quite or very familiar with agentic commerce, compared with 29.4 % in the UAE and 23.7 % in Saudi Arabia. The gap between awareness and intent indicates that businesses are beginning to assess the commercial potential of the technology even as it remains relatively new to many decision‑makers.
Concrete plans are already emerging. Sixteen point one percent of Egyptian organisations said they intend to launch an agentic commerce pilot within the next six months, versus 11.7 % in the UAE and more than 43 % in Saudi Arabia. Revenue growth is the primary expected benefit for Egyptian and Saudi firms, while UAE companies emphasise customer loyalty and retention.
"We are seeing early but meaningful signs of a shift in Egypt as businesses start to embrace agentic commerce to unlock the next level of value," said Malak El Baba, country manager at Visa Egypt. "At Visa, we view this as the next step in seamless transactions. While commerce becomes more intelligent and autonomous, our role is to keep payments frictionless, inclusive, and secure," she added.
The scale of planned spending remains cautious. About nine percent of Egyptian businesses surveyed intend to make strategic investments of more than $1 million. Most are targeting moderate investments of $250,000 to $500,000. In the UAE, intentions are more evenly split between moderate ($250,000–$500,000) and significant ($500,000–$1 million) levels, and Saudi Arabia shows a similar pattern.
Barriers to adoption are dominated by data privacy and security concerns, followed by uncertainty over returns on investment and regulatory risks. Governance and trust issues outweigh technological limitations, while access to skills and tools ranks lower.
More than 70 % of Egyptian respondents expect agentic commerce to have at least a moderate impact on their industries within the next two years. Saudi Arabia shows a similar expectation of disruption, and UAE businesses anticipate the technology could reach a tipping point.
Industry‑specific case studies are seen as an important factor for encouraging adoption in Egypt, while UAE firms emphasise measurable returns on investment and Saudi companies look to peer recommendations and success stories.
In short, the survey reveals a strong willingness among Egyptian firms to invest in agentic commerce, driven by expectations of revenue growth and improved customer experience. However, awareness remains low and data privacy, security and regulatory uncertainty are the primary obstacles. The coming months will likely see a handful of pilots and modest investment rolls, with larger commitments waiting on clearer evidence of return and stronger governance frameworks.
