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Lebanon's IT sector in need of serious upgrade - expert

07 July 2010

Robert Cusack

Special to The Daily Star

BEIRUT: The true value of IT has not been displayed in Lebanon, says George Kadifa, director of Silverlake enterprises. But he added that the relentlessness that is inherent in IT development will create growth despite any attempt to hinder it.

“What is being asked in Lebanese business circles now is whether IT is a ‘means to an end’ or an ‘ends to a means,’” Kadifa said in an interview with The Daily Star. “It’s a very old question in the West, but one that is catching on [here].”

“I think … instead of looking at IT as an outcome where profits are maximized,” Kadifa said, “we [should see IT] as a value for business that minimizes costs and enables services.”

“This is the true value and wealth of IT,” he said. “But what we are seeing in Lebanon is a very … conflicted view in the public and private sectors about the IT sector’s worth.”

Kadifa has a very damning view of the state of IT in Lebanon; he at once isolates the lack of restrictions and the level of sophistication that characterizes the international IT market, while at the same time he lauds the need to change and update the existing Lebanese IT system in order to best suit this worldwide market.

“I believe we could cut 5 to 10 percent of Lebanon’s [internet] traffic for a start, by changing our daily systems,” he said.

“For instance, we should update and improve the internet banking systems,” he said. “We could even improve the state of banking in Lebanon by taking the majority of transactions being completed on paper to being computed online.”

It is not only the traffic found on the internet that Kadifa is interested in revamping.

“Look outside at the traffic clogging the streets,” he said. “IT can really help here in Lebanon by working with environment and traffic management.”

“That hasn’t been tapped yet, [even] though it should be happening in the immediate future,” he said. “A lot can be done here and it really just cannot wait.”

Kadifa is not just concerned about the gaps in the banking and traffic-management department, however, as he does not view them as the largest potential market in the region.

“There is a lot of untapped potential in the MENA region,” emphasized Kadifa. “For example, regarding ‘local content’ – [that is to speak of] information generated from Google maps, translated blogs, and text messaging information – we can say that this emerging market is huge and ripe for investment.”

“The MENA region has a young and rapidly growing population,” said Kadifa. “That is a perfect market for online investors to target, but no-one has of yet truly harnessed its potential,” Kadifa added.

“We should be asking: “How does consumer behavior alter in the MENA region to the West? How do you reach the masses? How is this culture changing and how are they changing their lifestyles?”

According to Kadifa, the essential basics needed to start a growing IT business center already exist in Lebanon.

But, Kadifa added, restrictions in infrastructure and business behavior would hamper future business development.

“We have a basic ADSL connection and some of the core infrastructure,” he said. “These are essential for growth but the problem in Lebanon is that we believe form is more important than substance.”

“Egypt can export software and services as they have a better and cheaper infrastructure than [in Lebanon],” he said. “So I wondered about the comparative differentiator in Lebanon – what is unique about us?”

Kadifa then gives his succinct summary of what characterizes Lebanon as a good place to invest in.

“Lebanon is a place of great creativity and … [in some parts] more productivity than can be found in the West,” he said. “In my view, with the current set-up of Lebanese businesses, I don’t really think there’s any reason why businesses should choose to work [in Lebanon] at all,” he said. “But there is a huge amount of creativity that should be harnessed and a potential for a large amount of growth.”

© Copyright The Daily Star 2010.