New country report to explore potential for economic growth in ICT

Egypt, 26 April 2010: Egypt is looking to capitalise on the innovative opportunities that information and communications technology (ICT) offer rather than restricting expansion in the sector solely to traditional areas of business.

Tarek Kamel, the country's Minister for Communications, Information and Technology, said the government's innovation strategy, which is due to be launched later this year, would mirror initiatives such as the recently-established entrepreneurship and innovation centre in Smart Village, the Technology Cluster and Business Park in Egypt.

"We will take the necessary steps to be an alternative location for investment in intellectual capital, solidifying our positioning at a higher segment of the value-chain," he said. "Egypt will look to be branded by much more than just business process outsourcing and call centre services. We will endeavour to use innovation as a primary driver for future growth."

Kamel was speaking exclusively to Oxford Business Group (OBG), the global publishing, research and consultancy firm. The interview appears in OBG's forthcoming business guide, The Report: Egypt 2010, together with detailed business intelligence on the country's macroeconomics, infrastructure, political landscape, banking and sectoral developments.

With investors set to turn their attention towards untapped areas of business, Kamel highlighted the need to step up the pace of broadband penetration across the country.  "Boosting broadband is certainly one of our priority areas," he said. "We aim to increase broadband penetration from 10 percent to between 25 and 30 percent in the next three or four years."

Kamel was confident that the inevitable progression from telecommunications to new areas of growth, such as value-added services and software development, signalled a wealth of fresh opportunities, most notably in the creation of digital Arabic-language content. But he acknowledged that Egypt's ICT sector needed to prepare itself to do business on a global level.  "Information technology networks must prepare a strategy for capacity building and work together to tackle regulatory challenges and barriers which exist in pursuit of fully-fledged open market environment," he said.

 The Report: Egypt 2010 is set to be a valuable source of information for foreign direct investment into the country's economy and a guide to the many facets of the country, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, political landscape, banking and sectoral developments.  It will also feature interviews with key personalities from the fields of business and politics, including Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif; Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali; the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa and the President of the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, Gerald L. Hassell.

OBG's report will also include additional features and analysis to mark the group's 11th year in Egypt, including a detailed analysis of the small and medium-sized business sector and a special report on Alexandria. The Report: Egypt 2010 will be available in print form or online.

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About Oxford Business Group
Oxford Business Group (OBG) is a global publishing, research and consultancy firm, which publishes economic and political intelligence on the markets of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean. Through its range of print and online products, OBG offers comprehensive and accurate analysis of political, macroeconomic and sectoral developments, including banking, capital markets, insurance, energy, transport, industry and telecoms.  

The critically acclaimed economic, political and business reports have become the leading source of business intelligence on developing countries in the regions they cover. OBG's online economic briefings provide up-to-date in-depth analysis on the issues that matter for tens of thousands of subscribers worldwide. OBG's consultancy arm offers tailor-made market intelligence and advice to firms currently operating in these markets and those looking to enter them. 

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Melissa Green,
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© Press Release 2010