Talaat: A qualitative shift in the communications sector to transform from a service sector to a productive sector that attracts investments and provides job opportunities
By: Basel Khaled
Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, confirmed that the outsourcing industry has become a basic and main component of the communications and information technology sector and is witnessing a growth in its investments in Egypt, noting that there are more than 175 companies that have established more than 195 outsourcing centers in Egypt, through which they employ more than 145,000 specialists who export digital services worth more than $3.7 billion annually, explaining the diversity of specializations of outsourcing centers in Egypt, including communication services, programming services, semiconductor services, integrated programs, and other high-value specializations.
This came in a speech by Dr. Amr Talaat during his participation in the opening session of the Cairo ICT’24 conference. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, inaugurated the 28th session of the Egypt International Technology Exhibition and Conference for the Middle East and Africa, Cairo Ict24, under the slogan “The Next Wave”, on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Dr. Amr Talaat added in his speech that the communications and information technology sector has achieved a qualitative leap thanks to the efforts and expertise of the sector’s employees, transforming it from a service sector that provides only communications services to a productive service sector after it became one of the productive sectors in the country due to its role in attracting investments, bringing in hard currency, and providing job opportunities for young people, explaining that the sector has become a common denominator for all sectors of the country that seek to create a boom so that the sector becomes a basic locomotive for development, which confers responsibility on the sector, stressing that it has become imperative for all sectors to develop their performance systems to keep pace with developments related to generative artificial intelligence and absorb technological developments. Talat pointed out that the communications and information technology sector is the fastest growing sector in the country over the past six years, with growth rates exceeding 16%.
The sector’s contribution to the GDP has grown from 3.2% in 2014 to 5.8%, and is targeted to exceed 8% in the coming few years. He praised the real fruitful partnership between the elements of the communications and information technology sector, from global companies to local companies, whether owned by government agencies or the private sector, the government sector and civil society, explaining that this partnership is characterized by continuous dialogue to implement organizational strategies and visions, to develop companies’ investments, and to provide the cadres required by companies. Dr. Amr Talat pointed out that the communications and information technology sector is based on human creativity and trained Egyptian cadres, which are an attractive element for global companies’ investments. Explaining that the communications and information technology sector has expanded its horizons and has become able to accommodate all colleges and specializations, noting that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology provides training initiatives for all age groups starting from the age of 8 years and for various scientific specializations and for all segments of society in order to enable citizens to obtain job opportunities, stressing the ministry's continued expansion in all training initiatives in terms of quantity and quality in line with modern technologies and the requirements and developments of the labor market.
He explained the efforts made to improve communications services over the past years, which resulted in Egypt achieving stability in the digital infrastructure, adding that Egypt has topped the ranking of average fixed internet speed in Africa since 2022 with an average speed of 76.4 megabits / second, after it occupied the fortieth place 6 years ago in the average fixed internet speed in Africa with an average speed of 5.6 megabits / second, indicating an increase in the number of mobile towers from 18,000 mobile towers to 37,000 towers, and mobile companies have invested more than 2 billion dollars in new frequency spectrums; Noting that the number of post offices has reached more than 4,600 offices, and more than 90% of them have been developed. The opening session was attended by Eng. Ghada Labib, Deputy Minister of Communications for Institutional Development, Eng. Bakr El-Bayoumi, Deputy Minister of Communications for Technological Research Planning, Osama Kamal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trade Fairs International, the organizer of the exhibition, Ibrahim Sarhan, Chairman and Managing Director of E-Finance Group, Mohamed Amin, Senior Vice President for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Dell Technologies, Mohamed El-Mofty, CEO of ICT Misr, Taha Khalifa, General Manager of Intel in the Middle East and Africa, and Hardy Bemihwa, President and CEO of Cassava Technologies Group.
