The Information Technology Industry Development Agency ITIDA, the executive IT arm of Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, concluded its successful participation in Gitex Technology Week. Its presence in the annual ICT event enabled Egyptian technology firms participating under its umbrella to seal investment and expect business deals worth $2.1 million.
The new contracts and anticipated sales will boost Egypt’s ICT market, which is expected to record a sales volume worth $10 billion by the end of this year, according to the latest statistics from IDC.
The first announcement made at ITIDA’s Gitex 2016 pavilion was by technology solutions company OGTech about its expansions in the GCC market and opening of a new branch in Dubai to offer services to clients in the UAE from both public and private sectors, following the success of its first regional branch in Qatar.
Nilecode, an Egyptian software design and development firm, has entered a strategic partnership with the Al Quiyadia Saudi Group of companies with branches in Egypt, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, to establish Integrated Development Company with a business volume estimated to be around SAR 50 million.
ITIDA officials met a high-level delegation from the Irish company Davra Networks to shed light on the competitive advantages of Egypt in the field of ICT as well as highlight incentives provided to encourage foreign investments into the local market.
Investment and business opportunities offered by the Egyptian IT sector as well as cooperative, partnership and investment prospects in the projects of the new technology parks were discussed as well Davra Networks’ delegates expressed their desire to initiate fruitful joint ventures with ITIDA that meet the aspirations of both sides.
ITIDA officials also met representatives from EMC, a leading provider of IT storage hardware solutions, who reiterated their intention for cooperation in providing cutting-edge technological platforms for free to encourage Egyptian entrepreneurs to participate in Egypt’s Innovation Clusters’ initiative.
IBM agreed that the company will eye new opportunities in the local market by expanding its centre of excellence in Cairo to one of the new tech parks, in addition to availing its Bluemix platform for free to the Egyptian entrepreneurs and tech start-ups.
Emaratech, a leading Dubai-based technology and consulting company, expressed its interest in establishing a call centre in Egypt in coordination with ITIDA to serve its customers from international banks.
The meeting with officials from Oracle Corporation resulted in the establishment of a regional centre for cloud computing in one of Egypt’s new Tech Parks to explore further expansion opportunities.
There was an agreement with Belgium-based Oddo, a suite of open source business apps, to train Egyptians in providing technical support services as well as to give them priority while recruiting for its partner companies in Egypt.
ITIDA has been sponsoring the participation of Egyptian companies in Gitex Technology Week for 11 consecutive years. For the latest edition, it extended its support to 29 organisations. It has adopted a number of criteria for selecting companies to participate under its umbrella, including the firm’s expertise in the local market, compatibility of its business with the event’s theme, its export capacities, availability of quality certificates, and its official representation in the event. ITIDA also reviews each prospective company’s compatibility with its strategy as well its extent of participation in industry and its export development programs.
ITIDA continues to drive Egypt’s ICT sector, the country’s second largest economic contributor, in terms of growth. It also extends support to the government’s efforts to further spread technology especially within the government and other vital sectors in order to strengthen both economic and social development.
The Egyptian Government’s ICT sector strategy aims to increase the industry’s contribution to the national GDP from EGP 52 billion in 2014 to EGP 70.2 billion by 2020 and create up to 300,000 direct and indirect job opportunities within the next few years.
The GCC’s rapid expansion complements Egypt’s ICT sector which is preparing to record a growth rate, coming largely from IT services and software packages that will see a compound annual growth rate of about 9% by 2019.
Asmaa Hosni, CEO, ITIDA, said: “We commend the efforts of our people in signing a new strategic partnership agreement with the Al Quiyadia Saudi Group of companies. It is a step towards strengthening the presence of one of the leading Egyptian companies within the GCC market to provide better services to its clients through a qualified team of professionals and per the highest international standards and professional training programs. The move is in line with ITIDA’s commitment to implement a blend of specialised programs and initiatives geared to meet the industry’s needs for a high-skilled workforce.”
“The strategic partnership and other accomplishments are part of ITIDA’s objectives and strategy to create opportunities for collaboration, increase the export of Egyptian IT products and services, promote investment, and open up new markets. This will be achieved by working with local companies to sponsor their participation in international exhibitions and conferences so that they can gain maximum benefit from IT-related events,” added Hosni.
Mohammed bin Hamad Al Ajami, CEO, Al Quiyadia Saudi Group of companies, said: “We have signed the agreement with the Egyptian party because of our trust in their technical capability and qualified professionals. We aim to optimally benefit from their very promising technology solutions. We strongly believe that our partnership will support the industries and the economies of both countries and further integrate the IT sectors of Egypt and Arab countries. We, at Al Quiyadia are very keen to invest in training labs, innovative ideas, and start-ups in Egypt’s new technology parks and take advantage of the creative products and solutions offered by companies there to achieve our goals.”
Egyptian start-ups, on the other hand, attracted large numbers of visitors, drawing the interest of 130 elite investors as well as regional and international businesspersons to discuss strategic partnerships and contract opportunities. The outcome was the signing of a number of acquisition agreements and capital raising leads with the eight Egyptian companies participating under the umbrella of ITIDA.
