Investment Opportunities in ICT Sector

The ICT sector is by all means a model for deregulation policies that the government of Egypt has recently adopted to liberalize and boost investment. The socio-economic impact of the telecom has become obvious to everyone.

The ICT sector is playing a pivotal role in the development of all other sectors. The year 1999 marked the real kick start for the ICT sector in Egypt, with President Mubarak launching the Information Society initiative, which focuses on the development of ICT industry and supporting all governmental sectors with the latest technological techniques.

The ICT sector takes part for instance in the Egyptian Education Initiative EEI, sponsored by the Government of Egypt in collaboration with the World Economic Forum under the auspices of the Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, for the purpose of developing the education process as a whole and the provision of better education methods.

The MCIT  has also launched the Digital project of Women’s health in collaboration with ministry of Health, which seeks to provide better health services for the Egyptian women in remote areas especially with regards to the disease of cancer.

Other sectors of the society such as agriculture and media also make use of ICT development.

The Government of Egypt approved a number of projects and initiatives to help disseminate ICT in different governorates of Egypt. Chief among these initiatives is “Computer for Every House” which started in 2002. The Government also established the Smart Village as a suitable place that gathers all ICT partners. The Smart village stretches over 200 feddans and offer more 30,000 job opportunity.

The surmounting increase in numbers of fixed and mobile phone subscribers as well Internet users, along with the increasing IT clubs all over Egypt, all reflect the growth attained in the ICT sector in Egypt.

A quick review to the indicators of the sector will unveil the development and progress attained by the sector, which was mirrored in the increase of the number of ICT companies working in Egypt from 266 companies in 1999 to 2327 companies in 2007. These companies provide diversified activities: there are now 3 companies providing mobile services, 8 data carriers and more than 200 internet providing companies.

The ICT strategy until 2010 includes further reforms in the sector. There are investment opportunities in the sector. A license for the maritime cable binding Asia, Europe and Africa and a license for new international voice gateways were awarded. The Egyptian government is on the verge of launching the second fixed telephone license. A new framework for licensing new triple play services for voice data and video in a converged format is being formulated as well. In addition, policy measures are being taken to improve the protection of intellectual property, respect privacy and further improve security and reliability of networks. A WiMax spectrum is another opportunity for investment in Egypt.

ICT sector reform also includes reform of the postal sector. Egypt’s post is also being modernized with almost 3,500 postal outlets all over the country. This is again a big investment opportunity, an opportunity for partnership for ventures from Egypt and outside Egypt. The Egyptian postal authority enjoys the trust of Egyptian citizens all over the country. The Government of Egypt seeks to turn the Post to an institution that is providing societal services, e-government services as well as financial services.

The second part of the strategy is using ICT for development. It has been clearly recognized that ICT is a catalyst for health services, for government services, for education services, and not to forget, content services. All of these are happening in the form of public-private partnership. Egypt is rich in content and has played historically an excellent role in shaping the cultural balance of the whole Middle East through entertainment, culture, books and scientific content. The content business is still an opportunity for growth and for investment. The Government is seeking now to put this content online in digital format with the right mechanisms, at affordable prices, and the right quality of services in order to make sure that we will continue to shape the cultural values of our neighboring countries in the Middle East.