·
Strategic
partnership between Nilecode & Al Quiyadia to establish SAR 50 million regional
company
·
Egyptian
IT market to reach USD 10.9 billion by 2019 with signing of new deals
·
Bilateral
meetings with international & regional firms to explore opportunities in
Egypt’s new Technology Parks & Innovation Clusters
November 1, 2016
The
Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA),
the executive IT arm of Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology (MCIT), concluded its successful participation in the 36th
edition of GITEX Technology Week, the largest technology exchange and
marketplace for Middle East and Africa held recently in Dubai. Its presence in
the annual ICT event enabled Egyptian technology firms participating under its
umbrella to seal investment and expect business deals worth USD 2.1 million. The
new contracts and anticipated sales will boost Egypt’s ICT market, which is
expected to record a sales volume worth USD 10 billion by the end of this year,
according to the latest statistics from International Data Corporation (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.
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.
A series of contracts and expected partnership deals
forged at ITIDA’s pavilion is expected to boost the sales volume of Egyptian
companies specialized in ICT services and products. 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. The
GCC’s rapid expansion complements Egypt’s ICT sector which is preparing to
record a growth rate of USD 10.9 billion by 2019, coming largely from IT
services and software packages that will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of
about 9 per cent by 2019.
“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. We look forward with confidence and optimism to the deals
signed during GITEX Technology Week, reaffirming our ongoing commitment to
support Egyptian companies in building a strong presence within the promising
regional markets,” 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.”
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. In another meeting with the tech giant IBM, it’s 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. In
addition, 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.
Lastly, the meeting with officials from Oracle Corporation
has resulted in the establishment of a regional centre for cloud computing in
one of Egypt’s new Tech Parks to explore further expansion opportunities. In
addition, 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 organizations. 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.