More Egypt IP Communications Stories

Egypt is gaining increasing attention as a location for global business process outsourcing (BPO) and IT outsourcing.

 

The latest such accolades were laid on Oct. 23 when the country received the title of Outsourcing Destination of the Year at the National Outsourcing Association (NOA)’s 2008 Awards held in London, beating rivals the Philippines and Romania. More than 350 high-level executives and outsourcing professionals attended the event

 

The judges cited Egypt’s language skills, young population and growing list of global sourcing investments. The country has soared in the popularity stakes in the last few years as an offshore destination for Europe. Observers note that Egypt has strong potential as an offshore location for North America. It is also well placed to serve the Middle Eastern and African markets.

 

The NOA awards, which are in their fifth year, aim to reward organizations for success in outsourcing projects, as well as raising awareness of the importance of best practice in outsourcing. They acknowledge achievements in IT outsourcing and BPO, as well as sector specific achievements in telecommunications, finance and utilities.

 

The NOA honors follows Cairo, Egypt’s capital being awarded seventh in a study by Tholons on the top 50 emerging outsourcing cities in 2008. A report by the Yankee Group (News - Alert) praised Egypt as “by far the Middle Eastern country currently best positioned to take advantage of the boom in outsourcing.” A.T. Kearney, a leading consultancy firm, placed the country 13th in its 2007 Global Services Location Index.

 

The growing list of multinationals investing in Egypt includes IBM, Microsoft, Satyam, SQS, Teleperformance, Valeo, Vodaphone, and Wipro. The country is home to Xceed (News - Alert), a growing BPO firm.

 

The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), which is affiliated to Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, runs Smart Village, a 600-acre business park on the outskirts of Cairo.

 

“This award recognizes the vast progress Egypt has made in the outsourcing market,” said ITIDA CEO Dr. Hazem Abdelazim, who received the Outsourcing Destination of the Year on behalf of the Egyptian government. “Egypt is slowly but surely putting its mark on the map of favored global services locations. Its young population, a large multi-lingual workforce, a solid infrastructure and a competitive cost structure is fortified by unequivocal government support, making Egypt a compelling destination for outsourcing services.”