Tech Boom Boosts Egypt's Economy

CAIRO, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Egypt's economy grew by 5.8 percent in the first quarter of 2010, accelerated by the 11.3 percent growth of its ICT industry.

Reports by the Economic Development Minister revealed the growth was at its fastest pace in almost two years and is expected to hit as high as 5.3 percent in the fiscal year ending June, up from 4.7 percent in the previous year.

Egypt remains one of the world's fastest growing outsourcing destinations and  has seen huge investments in the last year with companies including Sykes Enterprise and Stream Global Services. ITIDA has also signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Intel Corp to further boost the potential of Egyptian information and communication technology (ICT) companies by using Intel's technical expertise to improve their potential and develop products and technical solutions.

Commenting on the growth of the sector, Dr. Hazem Abdelazim, CEO of the Egypt's Information Technology Industry Development Agency said: "We have had a positive start to the year with new companies investing and local companies developing and expanding their capabilities and services. The sector is going from strength to strength and is evidently having a huge impact on the overall growth of our country. We are confident that the sector will continue to grow during the remainder of 2010 and that we will see more multinational companies expanding and outsourcing their business to Egypt."

Egypt continues to invest in its infrastructure and intellectual property and piracy are two areas that it is aggressively tackling. In the 2009 Business Software Alliance (BSA) and IDC Global PC Software Piracy Study published this week, Egypt's piracy rating remained at 59% for the second year, despite overall global levels rising in 2009.

Egypt's rating has dropped by 5% since 2005 and, at 59%, its ratings are lower than other leading outsourcing destinations such as Morocco (66%), China (79%) and the Philippines (69%).

Dr. Hazem Abdelazim adds, "Reducing piracy continues to be a challenge for the sector globally. In Egypt, we are continuing to make this a priority and are making good progress. Our rate remains lower than some other destinations around the world, and shows why Egypt has become a leading destination for global outsourcing. "

About ITIDA:

The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) is a governmental entity affiliated to Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.  It is responsible for growing and developing Egypt's position as a leading global outsourcing location by attracting foreign direct investment to the industry and maximizing the exports of IT services and applications.

Located in the heart of the modern business environment at Smart Village, the six hundred acre business park on the outskirts of Cairo, ITIDA is a self sustainable entity that drives the IT industry in Egypt and raises awareness among the Egyptian people of the benefits and use of ICT to advance socio-economic welfare of the whole community.

For further information on ITIDA, visit www.egypton.com or www.itida.gov.eg

SOURCE Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA)