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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 June 2000 Issue No. 484 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 June 2000 Issue No. 484
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Igniting the engine
By Niveen WahishAn eight-strong delegation comprising seven US IT companies and a senior representative of the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA) arrived in Egypt last week at the start of a six-day visit.
During their stay, the mission held one-on-one meetings with 18 Egyptian IT companies as well as with the Minister of Economy and External Trade Youssef Boutros Ghali, a senior advisor to the Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology, and industry leaders.
Participating companies were drawn from across the IT spectrum, including specialists in telecommunications, multimedia, e-commerce, Internet strategy development and training.
Designed as an "awareness mission" -- facilitating greater awareness among US companies of Egypt's IT programme and policy initiatives -- it also furnished "a way to advance the role of IT in bolstering Egypt's economic and social development," according to Richard Brown, mission director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Egypt, which funded the visit. And one purpose of the mission was to promote technology transfer and export opportunities for both Egyptian and American private sector companies.
The initial aim, though, was to probe the Egyptian market. Yet according to Spencer King, chief of party of the International Executive Service Corps (IESC) responsible for organising the visit, "there have (already) been some solid results."
Two of the participating US companies, Planetarabia.com and Weberize have announced that they will be opening offices in Cairo within two months while a third company, Integrated Network Solutions, signed a preliminary letter of understanding with Oriental Group for the setup of a joint venture.
King said the mission is part of a "total strategy" designed to complement a broader set of policies and programmes promoted by the government of Egypt in the IT field. And following the success of last weeks mission, plans are afoot to make it an annual event.
A reverse mission is scheduled next November, allowing Egyptian firms exposure to the US market and timed to coincide with the COMDEX computer trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Eric Fredell, global director of SIIA, an association with a membership of 1,200 software companies, viewed the mission as "very positive" in terms of "building bridges."
Fredell was impressed by Egypt's effort to build and strengthen the IT sector, lauding both "a government strategy that emphasises private sector leadership" and "a private sector that is responding."
IT has been "the most critical element" in the growth of the US economy, said Fredell, which is experiencing its longest ever sustained period of growth. "That same engine of growth can exist here with the right policies and strong private sector leadership," he said.
