Egypt's ICT sector is a success story, with sustained
double digit growth reaching 25% compared with 7% for the national economy. The
key factor for success is the planned synergetic coexistence of a number of
elements that converge to create vibrant and robust growth.
With a qualified human resource base of 250 thousand university graduates
annually, the ratification of appropriate telecommunication and e-signature
laws, together with a solid modernized ICT infrastructure at the crossroads of
major global submarine cables, the foundation for the development of Egypt's
ICT sector is in place. In addition, ICT reform and deregulation lead to higher
FDI in the ICT sector. Systematic multi-stakeholder consultations and
international expert research, enhanced by a coherent institutional framework,
resulted in the identification of niche areas were Egypt's competitive edge
could best be exploited. Examples include natural language applications,
business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing among others.
Public private partnerships have proven to be the most effective means to
achieve success in a number of initiatives launched by the Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology.
An annual ICT business plan competition is conducted to spot young talents. An
incubation facility was set up at Egypt's technology park, the Smart Village.
Virtual R&D Centers of Excellence clustering start-up companies,
multinationals, Egyptian expatriates and research centers were created in key
niche areas such as data-mining and wireless technologies. A private Technology
Development Venture Capital Fund was established. None of these elements would
have had the expected impact if initiated separately or sequentially.
Subscription-free Internet enables all Egyptians to access the Internet at the
cost of a local phone call. The PC 2010-Nation Online initiative provides low
cost PCs in installments starting from $7 per month. IT Clubs exist all over
the country primarily in deprived and remote areas to provide access and
training to local communities.
Education, health and government services are key priorities for the country's
development where ICT provides considerable added value. The Egyptian Education
Initiative launched with the World Economic Forum is enhancing the effective
use of ICT in all levels of education and for life long learning. The
telemedicine network, the health informatics program and the medical emergency
call centers are reducing costs and increasing efficiency of public health
services in Egypt. Public private partnerships with multi-national companies
have enabled Egypt to lead in providing e-government applications.
Arabic content on the web accounts for less than 0.5%, in sharp contrast to the
massive contribution of Arab culture and civilization to human history. The
Arabic e-Content Initiative launched by MCIT is creating a portal that will
digitize in its first phase 2000 books and 300 software programs. The Center
for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage is documenting Egypt's
heritage using the latest technologies.
Egypt is engaged in global policy dialogues and initiatives such as the
Internet Governance Forum, which we are hosting in 2009, and the Global
Alliance for ICT and Development. We are now confident that Egypt's ICT sector
has gained recognition as an effective peer in the international ICT community.
|
|
Related
Documents
|
|
|
|
| Egypt's Information Society
|
|
|
|
|
An outline of the initiatives implemented to bolster Egypt's transition into a
fully-fledged information society while simultaneously addressing internal
development issues through R&D, total domestic e-Access as well as the
implementation of adaptable regulatory procedures in order to attract foreign
investment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
First Published :
|
Dec 2003
|
|
Updated :
|
April 2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Egypt’s Vision of the Information Society |
|
|
|
|
The document outlines Egypt's vision of building the Information Society and
bridging the digital divide together with a closer look at the country's
Egyptian Information Society Initiative (EISI), structured around seven major
tracks: e-readiness, e-learning, e-government, e-business, e-health, e-culture
and ICT export initiative.
|
|
|
|
|
|
First Published :
|
May 2005
|
|
Updated :
|
Oct 2005
|
|
|
|
|
Introduction
ICT Sector
Reform
ICT
for Development
Innovation
and ICT Industry Development
Conclusion