Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between digital payment adoption and firm-level innovation and revenue performance in Egypt, using microdata from the Survey of Enterprise Digitization published by the Economic Research Forum (ERF). Digital transformation, specifically payments, has accelerated across emerging economies, yet empirical evidence on its firm-level impacts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains limited. The study is framed through the Technology-Environment-Organization (TOE) framework and is highly incorporated with the Solow Growth Model through indirect technological growth inputs in the Solow residual. To address this gap, the study employs probit and ordered logit models to examine whether firms that adopt digital payments—either alone or in combination with e-commerce—exhibit higher probabilities of introducing innovation and achieving higher revenue levels. Results show that digital payment adoption is positively and significantly associated with both innovation and revenue performance, even after controlling for firm size, age, sector, workforce characteristics, and regional factors. Marginal effects further confirm that firms using both digital payments and e-commerce exhibit the largest performance gains. The findings stress the importance of expanding digital and financial infrastructure, supporting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) digitalization, strengthening fintech ecosystems, and improving national data collection systems to enable evidence-based policy design in Egypt’s evolving digital economy.
School
School of Business
Department
Economics Department
Degree Name
MA in Economics
Graduation Date
Winter 1-31-2026
Submission Date
1-9-2026
First Advisor
Dina Abdelfattah
Committee Member 1
Omar ElShenety
Committee Member 2
Ismaeel Tharwat
Extent
58 p.
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval
Not necessary for this item
Disclosure of AI Use
Thesis editing and/or reviewing; Code/algorithm generation and/or validation
Recommended Citation
APA Citation
Mowafi, A. M.
(2026).Digital Payment Adoption and Firm Performance in Egypt: An Empirical Study from the Digital Transformation Era in MENA [Master's Thesis, the American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2651
MLA Citation
Mowafi, Alhussein M.. Digital Payment Adoption and Firm Performance in Egypt: An Empirical Study from the Digital Transformation Era in MENA. 2026. American University in Cairo, Master's Thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2651