31 Jan. - 6 Feb. 2002
Issue No.571
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 31 Jan. - 6 Feb. 2002 Issue No.571 |
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Silicon Valley, Silicon Pyramid
New York, Los Angeles, and India have all claimed places for themselves as silicon-somethings of the world. Now Egypt is trying to claim its own snippet of the scene, too. Yasmine El-Rashidi takes a peek
It would be hard to imagine Egypt as a Silicon Valley. Or even a Silicon Alley, for that matter. And it would be even harder to imagine the ancient land as a haven for IT, computers or, above all, software engineering and development. If the country's IT gurus have it their way, however, Egypt will gain momentum and overtake its neighbouring nations as the IT hub of the region.
The big plans all began two years ago, when Egypt decided that it needed to get up to speed, into the tech scene, modernise, and catapult itself into the ranks of the high-tech nations of the world. The examples, after all, were everywhere. Jordan, India, Dubai; the Communications and Information Technology (CIT) revolution was making waves in the area. So there was no reason why Egypt could not be a part of the scene, too.
In reaction to the seeming frenzy, the government decided to leap, founding in 1999 the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). With that came the spread of Internet access and usage, the push for e- commerce, and the creation of an "e-culture."
Progress was sharp, and the CIT boom wide--felt. Discovery of a national niche from which to take over the world, however, failed to come.
It seemed, at first, that the country would forever boast the glory of its ancient days; that a modern- day mouth-opener would never come to be.
In recent months, however, the talk has changed.
"Our objectives in the software arena reach far beyond the basic upgrading of local IT companies. We're working towards transforming Egypt into a viable, competitive software exporter to the Arab World, Europe and the United States," Ahmed Nazif, minister of communications and information technology said in an exclusive interview with Al- Ahram Weekly. "Making it a software hub in the region. We want to build partnerships with multinationals in Europe and the United States. Most of the Arabic software in the region is produced here."
Indeed, total software exports totalled $50 million last year alone. A sizeable sum given how young the sector is. That figure, however, is far from satisfying Nazif and his team.
"Given our initial aim of a billion dollars," Nazif says, "there is much work to be done."
It appears the government is well on its way. Leading software multinational, IBM, has already set the mood and trend, establishing its Arabic software engineering offices in Egypt. All the support for its manufactured programmes is based in Egypt, too, giving a reason for heads to turn this way.
"The market is very promising," says Rajiv Kumar, an independent IT consultant who has worked extensively in both India and New York. "It's still very immature, but the potential is there. What will be pivotal, and the final determining factor in the equation of success, is the foundation the nation lays for itself."
In that regard, Kumar says Egypt appears to be on the right track. "The essence of any industry, at the end of the day, is human resources. You can have all the latest software, hardware, the best infrastructure, really, but fail miserably," Kumar says. "Because ultimately, it's the people that make the difference. The creativity of the mind is the final touch. It's what makes the difference between a good sector and a great sector."
If it's a mind game, then Egypt is certainly on form.
"New York is home to some of the most sophisticated IT minds in the world. I've seen them at work. Egypt definitely has the potential. In fact, the computer and IT industry in New York has a sizeable percentage of Egyptians partaking in it. They're among the brightest people around," he says, matter-of-factly.
But that did not come without the right investment. The investment, that is, in Human Resource Development (HRD).
"The investment in human resources," Nazif reiterates to world leaders, national industry players, and of course, time and again to the press, "is one of the most important factors in the development equation."
In line with his perspective, the summer of 2001 witnessed the inauguration of the region's first Software Engineering Certification Centre (SECC).
The centre offers a window into the local software development scene. Inaugurated at a "Software Process Improvement workshop" organised last June, the centre's mission is to "promote and support the development of the software industry in Egypt by improving the software engineering practices to attain higher maturity levels, and thus attain a strong presence in the international market."
The centre is the distillation of alliances and partnerships with a host of multinationals and leading local companies, including Motorola, Alcatel, IBM, Oracle, Orascom, Lucent Technologies, MobiNil, Raya Holding, and IT Worx.
SECC supports a development area that has already started to put down roots in a growing sector.
"It's already started to establish itself worldwide," Kumar says. "In several more specialised areas. Such as partnerships with multinationals. Such as IBM, of course."
Perhaps, though, its most promising mouth- opener, will be its offshore subcontracting scene.
"There are already several Egypt-based software development houses that are taken on for work by International organisations and companies," Kumar explains. "The thing is, you [Egyptians] have the resources, you have the talent, and you have the cost-effective element of it all. It's cheaper to come here. And you're getting quality."
Outsourcing companies, such as Sakhr Software Company, and Cairo 2000, have had much impact, both regionally and around the world.
Most recently, Sakhr unveiled its online media service, Johaina, in Lebanon, which enables the monitoring, collecting, categorising and archiving of news published on the Internet in Arabic and English. And in October 2001, the company released Arabic-English translation software for free use on the company's Arabic language web portal Ajeeb.com.
"When you think of it," Kumar says, "even in terms of the global picture, what a company like Sakhr is doing is remarkable. Mind-boggling, really. The limit to the growth potential of the sector in the country is unforeseeable. Exports currently stand at $50 million. That's just a fraction of a fraction of what it will be in a few years."
He has a point given the push to spread Internet access and usage nation-, and region-wide. Internet use has climbed to one million users, from just 350,000 two years ago. As IT use grows, so too will demand for Arabic software and services.
"In terms of outsourcing, Egypt has much room for growth with regard to serving foreign clientele. But it's really when we talk about Arabic language software development that we really have a market niche to exploit," says Kumar.
The exploitation is being taken care of by the government in terms of education. MCIT's establishment of a national technical training programme has been met with great interest. The programme, which takes recent computer and IT experts and throws them head-first into an intensive and rigorous course in either software development, web development, or communications, will train 25,000 graduates over the next five years -- just a sliver of the CIT trainees being graduated by the ministry into the sector and global market.
"The country's on the right track," Kumar says. "I am a consultant on market growth and development. I've seen trends, failures, successes. I've seen market come out of nowhere and flourish. I believe Egypt is on its way."
On its way, in short, to becoming the nucleus of software development in the region. The Silicon Pyramid, maybe, of the Arab World.
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