Egypt, Microsoft to develop digital skills among youth

Egypt - Ministry of Communications and Information and Technology signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft to develop digital skills among the country’s youth, Daily News reported on July 11^th.

The deal will launch and implement several initiatives to build youth capacities, stimulate technological innovation and entrepreneurship, and incubate start-ups working in the information technology (IT) field.

The newly signed deals are part of the ministry’s endeavour to prepare national competencies in various fields of technology, and create an environment that supports technological innovation.

The first MoU aims to create cooperation between the ministry and Microsoft Egypt, to launch the national capacity building programme, Tamayouz.

The three-year deal will prepare young qualified employees in the fields of technology required to implement Egypt’s digital projects.

Its scope of work includes cooperation in implementing the “Professional Online” initiative, to provide professional self-training for about 10,000 IT specialists in Egypt every year.

This is in addition to implementing the “Develop and Change” initiative for digital, employment, and programming skills, which aims to target developing 1,000 youth annually.

The “Global Skills” initiative has also been launched to develop youth skills in the 10 most in-demand jobs around the world, with a target of 10,000 trainees in 2021.

The MoU includes cooperation with the Information Technology Institute (ITI) in implementing the “Go Ahead” initiative, which targets freelancers in Egypt. It targets about 1,200 trainees annually.

The second deal was penned between the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Microsoft Egypt.

It aims to enhance cooperation in the fields of incubating startups, stimulating technological innovation, and supporting and training entrepreneurs.

This will take place through Microsoft Egypt’s worldwide programme known as “Microsoft for Startups”. The MoU includes four cooperation tracks between Microsoft Egypt and ITIDA’s Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC).

It also includes supporting 100 startup companies and enhancing their sustainable growth opportunities, by providing Microsoft Azure cloud services worth an estimated $3 million.

Both parties will collaborate to train 500 entrepreneurs from different governorates in technological disciplines and provide them with knowledge on best practices related to the growth of start-ups and strategies for entering the market.

Microsoft will work with ITIDA to enrich the “Egypt Innovate” platform, as well as cooperate in creating a space dedicated to startups and training under the name Microsoft Space at the Digital Egypt Innovation Center.

It aims to provide practical training in digital skills relevant to the market and with internationally accredited certificates.