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Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 June 1999 Issue No. 432 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 June 1999 Issue No. 432
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Interview Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters IT's coming
By Shaimaa LabibThe last 10 years have witnessed a substantial growth in the Information Technology (IT) market in Egypt. Computerised services and digital technology have been introduced in different sectors of the economy, and this has led to a demand for more computers and the need for many people to be acquainted with the latest developments in computer technology.
The formation of Egypt's first IT holding company last week is an indication that the country is now capable of developing its own IT industry. Egypt is currently a rapidly developing market for international IT companies.
The IT holding company, RAYA, consists of seven specialised IT, communications, software and hardware development companies. The companies, all Egyptian, are TriTech, ProTech, InfoX, UniTech, Mega, OraTech and Horizon.
RAYA's market value is LE130 million, which is expected to increase to LE190 million in the next two years. Industry analysts predict it will have sales worth LE250 million in the year 2000. The new company is aiming for an annual growth rate in sales of 30 per cent.
Egypt is witnessing a 25 per cent annual growth rate in the IT market, which makes it one of the fastest growing technology markets in the world, said Medhat Khalil, chief executive officer of RAYA.
"The formation of RAYA was the result of the increased awareness of Egyptian businessmen and the government that global finance and commerce are becoming more and more dependent on computer technology. Therefore, RAYA was established to promote investments in the IT market and to increase Egyptian exports of hardware and software products to the global market," Khalil said.
Medhat Khalil
Egypt has a competitive advantage in the IT field as the Arab world's main software developer in the Middle East. There are more than 10,000 Egyptian specialists currently working in the development of Arabic software programmes with multinational IT companies.
The new company intends to cooperate with small and medium-sized IT companies to provide them with possibilities for growth and the potential for regional exports.
Minister of Public Enterprise Atef Ebeid, who attended the inauguration of the new company, said "Information Technology is vital to the future of Egypt. This new company aims at integrating Egypt into the international IT market and will assist it in participating in the globalisation of the world economy."
The Egyptian government strongly encourages local IT companies to enhance their software and hardware development, said Ebeid, through the enactment of laws preserving intellectual property rights in the face of software pirating, and by offering tax exemptions for projects involving the construction of new communications networks.
The Egyptian private sector, with foreign technical assistance, has developed a study on promoting and developing the IT industry in Egypt. The findings are to be implemented in a month's time, Ebeid added.
"The study calls for constructing a technology zone where private IT companies can operate. It also discusses ways to promote IT exports to the global market. The study highlights the importance of developing technology institutes to provide the IT market in Egypt with highly qualified personnel," Ebeid said.
