In the last couple of years, the Egyptian information and communication sector witnessed a steady growth and a strong performance, with leaps in the industry, according to international reports and a number of key research analysts.
According to a report compiled by the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), Egypt has built a reputation as “an offshoring destination of choice”.
The report stated that the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP®) said that Egypt has demonstrated increased efforts in developing the telecom infrastructure, nurturing its talent pool through multiple training programs on advanced technologies such as data science, big data analysis, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and cyber security, in cooperation with major players of multinational companies.
IAOP added in a report titled “Egypt Changes the World’s Perception about the Country, from being the Home of History to a Nation with Competitive Edge”, that outsourcing workforce in Egypt stands at around 170,000 employees, providing services to 100 countries around the world, in 20 different languages.
“Six global IT and BPO players agreed to expand their operations in Egypt resulting in creating more than 3,700 jobs,” ITIDA reported.
CEO of ITIDA, Maha Rashad, said that the high demand from multi-national companies to establish branches and expand in Egypt reflects the increased confidence in Egypt’s capabilities as an outsourcing destination that is mainly distinguished by the abundance of multilingual talent and in-demand technical skills.
CEO of Ryan Strategic Advisory, Peter Ryan, emphasized that Egypt’s outsourcing value proposition is more relevant than ever.
He added that the Egyptian government prioritized attracting new BPO investment, touting the country’s skilled labor force, incentives and focus on quality, while confirming that Egypt’s front-office outsourcing sector never shrank, a testament to the value that investors place in that location. Egyptian BPO 2.0 is a reality.
“Based on a recently-published survey by Gallup, Egypt has been ranked as the safest growing country in Africa, and came in a higher rank than the UK and the USA, which qualifies the country to be a perfect destination to attract tech investments and provide offshore services to the globe,” the report showed.
The report also revealed that Egypt has been identified by Gartner as one of the primary destinations for Offshore and IT services, repeatedly in years 2016 and 2017, after it had been removed from the list for more than five years since 2011.
It further added that Egypt ranked first in the Middle East and Africa in the A.T. Kearney 2017 Global Services Location Index (GSLI).
The German Outsourcing Association released a guide to help decision-makers better understand the advantages and conditions of working with Egyptian IT- and business process service providers, recognizing the country’s capacities of the ITO, BPO, and shared services Industry.
The Egyptian ICT sector records current export revenues that exceed $3.25 billion, being one of the largest contributors to the country’s GDP and a major exporting sector.