CAIRO – 17 January 2024: During a recent visit to Assiut Governorate, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Amr Talaat witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Brightskies, an Egyptian digital transformation enabler and market leader, and Swift-Act, an embedded software solutions company.
This MoU aims to train and qualify 200 locals in software design, development, and integrated electronic systems. At least 150 of these graduates are targeted for employment in the offshoring sector within the tech park in New Assiut.
Additionally, the governmental delegation visited the headquarters of iSON Xperiences, an Indian company and global leader in Customer Experience Management (CXM). The company has a significant presence in Egypt with four sites including one in Assiut technology park which employs 700 employees, and 3 other sites in Cairo. The company is leveraging Egypt's tech talent, employing a total of nearly 3500 Egyptian employees, 50 percent of whom are females and 5 percent representation of people with disabilities.
The tour also included a visit to a Saudi company called Ejada, a leading provider of digital transformation, technology, and development solutions in the Middle East and North Africa. Around 1700 Egyptian employees work in Ejada, including 50 employees in its branch in Assiut. Ejada exports most of its services to the Saudi market from its branch in Assiut and plans to expand its business in the city of Assiut and continue to invest in the Egyptian market.
ITIDA's CEO, Ahmed ElZaher, highlighted the increasing demand from global and local tech companies to establish or expand their delivery centers in various Egyptian governorates beyond Cairo and Alexandria. The focus is particularly on Upper Egypt, leveraging the rich pool of skilled engineers and multilingual talent in these cities.
"The availability of skilled youth, coupled with a low cost of operations, makes these governorates attractive for global and local tech investments," ElZaher stated.
El Zaher emphasized the technological advancements in Assiut, showcasing facilities such as ITIDA’s technology incubator for startups under the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) at Assiut University. Additionally, the Electronics Innovation Complex in the Technology Park which embraces advanced labs for IoT, robotics, electronic circuits manufacturing, and digital manufacturing and prototyping.
Acknowledging the unprecedented support from the Egyptian government, ITIDA CEO affirmed that the outsourcing industry is poised for growth. The government's commitment is to enhance Egypt's competitiveness globally, fueling the knowledge economy and creating job opportunities in the IT sector.
Recently, ITIDA has been doing effort to highlight the potential of outsourcing in tier 2 cities and showcasing advantages for IT firms to set up in more cost-effective destinations beyond Cairo.
Technology industry leaders and global offshoring players are expanding operations across tier 2 and tier 3 cities in Egypt. This move aims to utilize the large pool of talent and capitalize on the operational cost advantages offered in these cities.
This strategic expansion beyond Cairo underscores Egypt's commitment to offering diverse investment opportunities and tapping into the potential of Tier 2 cities. With its large pool of skilled workforce, cost-effectiveness, exceptionally low attrition rates, and government-backed initiatives, these cities stand out as compelling alternatives for global companies aiming to optimize their offshoring operations.
In 2022/2023, the ICT sector grew by 16.3 percent, to become the highest growing sector in Egypt for the fifth year in a row. Egypt’s digital exports grew to reach $6.2 billion in 2023, up from $4.9 billion in 2022, with a growth rate of 26 percent.
Since the launch of the “Digital Egypt Strategy for the Offshoring Industry 2022-2026” in February 2022, ITIDA has signed 74 agreements with local and multinational companies in the outsourcing industry. These agreements focus on expanding offshoring centers, inaugurating new delivery centers in Egypt, and hiring 60K employees for these agreements.
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