Egypt was awarded the prestigious title of Offshoring Destination of the Year at the 2010 European Outsourcing Association Awards held in Brussels last night, beating rivals Philippines, Colombia and Sri Lanka to the accolade.

Dr. Hazem Abdelazim, CEO of Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) received the award on behalf of Egypt during a glittering ceremony held at the Chateau Du Lac, Brussels.

More than 100 high-level executives and outsourcing professionals attended this inaugural ceremony, hosted by the European Outsourcing Association (EOA).

Commenting on this achievement, H.E. Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology said: “This award recognizes the outstanding progress Egypt has made in the last year as a global outsourcing destination. The country’s credibility is going from strength to strength amongst European companies and has put its mark on the map of favored global services locations. We recognize the increasing role that Egypt can play in the fast-paced global ICT industry and we are advancing steadily on the way to position the country as a hub for IT innovation and entrepreneurship.”

The awards recognize the success of organizations in outsourcing projects and raise awareness of the importance of best practice in outsourcing.

Commenting on Egypt’s success at the awards, Martyn Hart, EOA Chairman said: “Egypt stood out for its multilingual capabilities and developments made to its infrastructure. It has proven itself to be both a strong player for European outsourcers and a gateway to the Middle East and Africa.”

Through the support of ITIDA and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Egypt has shown ongoing improvement in the ICT sector.

The results of these developments have been reflected through numerous reports, with Egypt most recently being ranked sixth most attractive offshoring destination worldwide and number one in EMEA according to the A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index™.

The growing list of multinationals investing and expanding operations in Egypt, including Stream Global Services, Vodafone, EMC, Teleperformance, IBM, Microsoft, SQS, Oracle and Valeo, is further testament to the country’s unwavering efforts to establish itself as the outsourcing destination of choice across Europe and beyond.

Source:http://www.prurgent.com/2010-06-30/pressrelease104398.htm

Egypt has become one of the world’s fastest growing locations for global outsourcing and services and has seen huge investments from several multinational groups during the past one year, said a senior official.

Hossam Megahed, board member for Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), said companies such as EMC, Stream Global Services and Sykes Enterprise have been collaborating with the agency and outsourcing their business in the country.

Reiterating the value and strategic importance of outsourcing, Megahed said despite the economic challenges, Egypt’s economy grew by 5.8 per cent in the first quarter, accelerated by the 11.3 per cent growth of its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.

According to Megahed, Egypt’s impressive infrastructure, favorable business environment, and world-class multilingual workforce were among the key factors that attracted companies to invest in the country.

‘The presence of high-profile companies like IBM, Microsoft and Vodafone in Egypt today highlights ITIDA’s continued success at building the country’s reputation as a global service delivery location,’ he remarked.

ITIDA recently showcased Egypt’s global outsourcing capabilities and offerings at the ‘4th Annual Shared Services Exchange,’ the invitation-only event designed for executives focused on strategy and partnerships in delivering value from shared services opportunities, held in Texas, US.

Megahed headed a host of panel discussions at the Shared Services Exchange, with leading representatives and executives from across the world.

He also discussed the emerging importance of Egypt in the global outsourcing market, as well as the importance of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry to Egypt’s economic development at the event.

Megahed also participated in two discussions: ‘The Great Debate: Determining whether or not outsourcing is the best strategy for your organization’ and ‘Moving Beyond BRIC: Driving strategy out of dialogue on trends and challenges.

Source:http://www.tradearabia.com/news/newsdetails.asp?Sn=IT&artid=181187

ITIDA, Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency, will be showcasing Egypt’s global outsourcing capabilities and offerings at the 4th Annual Shared Services Exchange from June 6-8, 2010 in Austin, Texas. The invitation-only event is designed for executives focused on strategy and partnerships in delivering value from shared services opportunities.

Egypt is one of the world’s fastest growing locations for global outsourcing and services, and has seen huge investments in the last year with companies such as EMC, Stream Global Services and Sykes Enterprise collaborating with ITIDA and outsourcing their business in Egypt.

Mr. Hossam Megahed, Board Member for ITIDA, will be leading a host of panel discussions at the Shared Services Exchange, with leading representatives and executives from across the world. Mr. Megahed will be discussing the emerging importance of Egypt in the global outsourcing market, as well as the importance of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry to Egypt’s economic development.

“The presence of high-profile companies like IBM, Microsoft and Vodafone in Egypt today highlights ITIDA’s continued success at building the country’s reputation as a global service delivery location,” said Mr. Megahed. “Egypt’s impressive infrastructure, favorable business environment, and world-class multilingual workforce are among the many factors that attract companies to invest in Egypt.”

Mr. Megahed will be participating in two discussions:

The Great Debate: Determining whether or not outsourcing is the best strategy for your organization (Monday, June 7th at 1:30 pm CDT)

Moving Beyond BRIC: Driving strategy out of dialogue on trends and challenges (Monday, June 7th at 6:15 pm CDT)

Mr. Megahed adds, “I aim to further establish Egypt’s reputation this week by meeting with prominent multinational companies that understand the value and strategic importance of outsourcing, and seek a strategic base to operate from. Egypt has so much to offer across geographic markets and a global client base, and is well suited and structured to support both existing and future clients. Together with our clients, ITIDA is the guiding force for IT innovation, investment and development across Egypt.”

ITIDA is a Gold sponsor of the event.

Momentum for Egypt

Despite the global economic challenges that are being faced worldwide, 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. With support from the Egyptian government, ITIDA has been highly aggressive over the past five years to develop the capabilities of local IT companies, attract foreign direct investments and scale up the talent pool through joint initiatives with Egyptian universities. Additional highlights include:

In the 2009 A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index, Egypt ranked sixth in the world, improving seven positions over the 2007 report

Egypt’s 2009 college graduating pool of 330,000 students is one of the largest among low-cost offshoring destinations
Egypt built the Smart Village, a modern business park outside Cairo that spreads over 32 million square feet. Currently home to 36 companies and 22,000 professionals, it is expected to host more than 500 companies and more than 100,000 employees by 2014

In addition to Smart Village, Maadi Park will be the BPO/ITO delivery park located in the center of Cairo. Currently under construction, the Park will be encompass 2 million square feet of prime real estate in downtown Cairo and have the capacity for 30,000 employees in over 40 buildings

Source:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/egypt-strengthens-reputation-as-a-leading-outsourcing-destination-95725459.html

Egypt’s information and technology sector continues to show it can be a major player on the global stage, boosting its investment in the area noticeably in the past decade. The country’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) said that the expect outsourcing to continue to bolster the IT sector and make investment for foreign companies easier.

With reported growth in IT last year at 11.3 percent and a number of major international corporations setting up shop in Egypt, the country remains one of the fastest growing destinations anywhere. In 2009, Sykes Enterprise and Stream Global Services made large investments in the country.

The ministry of communications and information technology said that ITIDA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Intel Corporation to “further boost the potential of Egyptian information and communications technology (ICT) companies” via Intel’s technical background and expertise.

“We aim to improve Egypt’s potential as an outsourcing destination to be able to compete with other locations on what we can offer, develop and have the ability to be the leading destination for these major IT firms,” said a spokesman from the ministry.

The confidence comes on the back of Communications Minister Tarek Kamel’s statements in late March, where he said Egypt hopes to generate some $2 billion in revenue by 2013 and $10 billion in 10 years.

That is good news for potential investors, who have been moving into the North African nation with an eye on further expansion into Africa and Asia. It is a win-win situation the ministry says, with little doubt “that we can continue to make Cairo and Egypt top destinations.”

It believes the industry can earn the country some $1.1 billion this year, Kamel said, after meeting employees at a newly opened 1,000-seat call center.

Little over a decade ago, Egypt did not even have a ministry of communications and technology. The ministry was established in October 1999 and headed by current Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, who believed this sector could become one of the most lucrative in the country if developed properly.

The telecom industry represents an estimated four percent of the country’s GDP; Egypt’s technology exports have reached $250 million annually.

Egypt’s sales pitch is based on its status as one of the Arab world’s largest and fastest growing markets.

Source:http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=12741