CAIRO: While the IT industry in Egypt has been growing by leaps and bounds, thanks to a forceful nudge from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), computer dealers have not benefited from the boom in the industry.
“There are still too many people in Egypt who do not own computers, Amr Sheira, CEO of Compu-Me in Egypt, tells The Daily Star Egypt.
According to Sheira, the projects and initiatives undertaken by the MCIT to garner greater computer education and a larger pool of computer owners that has been hailed by market insiders, has failed to do just that.
“The Every Home initiative that was launched by the ministry two and a half years ago, for example, which allowed people to buy computers and pay by installments through Telecom Egypt, failed because, firstly, 60 percent were not paying their installments and only 300,000 PC’s were sold, much less than the one million PC target set by the government, he says.
Another initiative launched by the ministry, “Notebooks for Every Professional, also didn’t fly, according to Sheira, because those who could afford notebooks preferred to pay in cash, up front, rather than in the installments the government had set up.
Sheira predicts that the “Low-cost Computer initiative launched by the government at the Cairo ICT fair will also fail. While the government is trying to make computers affordable through this initiative by selling computers for $250, with computer technology spurting out new computers practically every other day, lots of people can buy better, more up-to-date computers for the same or slightly higher price, says Sheira.
The crux of the problem is in education, according to Sheira. Egyptians simply lack the training and education needed to take full advantage of the benefits of computer technology.
“Training is still inadequate, says Sheira. “The trainers themselves are not educated enough or have the full know-how to teach or train others to use a computer. In fact, what we need is a program called ‘train the trainer.’
While Sheira concedes that the government is spending a lot of money on training with the aid of the private sector and the ministry of education, Egypt is still in the beginning stages of education.
“We are not even close to mid-way (to providing the proper training needed), he says.
“In my point of view, a big part of the problem is education. In school, kids are not learning to use a computer. It has to be imbedded in the educational culture, part of the curriculum, like math or science, says Ibrahim El Tatawy, an MIT graduate and software developer for Genesant Technologies in the U.S. “People say, why should I learn how to use a computer? Shouldn’t I learn how to read and write first? You have to learn how to use a computer from a young age because you will never enter the workforce without knowing how to use a computer, its technology, and technology is the future.
In fact, in Japan, an individual is considered illiterate if they do not know how to use a computer.
However, in a third world country like Egypt, the fact remains that, proper training or not, people are still not buying computers.
“There is still a limited number of PC’s at home, even with all the government initiatives and programs out there, says Sheira. “This can be directly attributed to unemployment, because there is a limited number of jobs in the country. And why would someone who doesn’t have a job have a computer?
Due to the still high unemployment figures, the training programs have failed to meet their objective because what people learn in these programs is quickly forgotten, as they do not have computers on which to practice their training on.
“It’s really a catch-22 situation, he says. “The only way today to get a job is to know how to use a computer, but without having a job, you can’t afford a computer. Thus, obviously, [you] do not know how to use one, he says.
According to Shiera, training and buying must go hand-in-hand in order for the computer industry to really take off.
One of the good signs, according to Sheira, is that people still desire to own computers. In fact, owning a computer is a sign of prestige among the poor, he says. “Even the bawab tries to get his son a computer so that he can go out and get a job and compete in the professional world, says Sheira.
Due to a lack of proper training, another issue arises; that of selection. Those shopping for computers still remain uneducated on their needs in a computer, and therefore only look at two things; the capacity of the hard drive and the size and speed of the memory, according to Sheira.
“People don’t buy a computer for the way it looks, which is a good thing, but they only look at the size of the hard disk, yet the rest of the components are low because they do not understand the specs, he says.
But not all hope is lost. Currently, the computer industry sells an average of 300,000 computers yearly. While that number is low considering the sheer size of the Egyptian population, people are still able to buy computers because the price is becoming lower.
“We are also seeing a trend where those individuals who usually buy their computers from abroad are starting to buy them from here, as the legislations and lifting of taxes made by the government, has turned the price of a computer in Egypt the same as abroad, says Sheira.
Furthermore, many well-financed sectors are buying computers in bulk. The petroleum industry, the financial sector and the flock of multinational companies that have set-up camp in Egypt are all buying PC’s by the truckload from Egypt, according to Sheira. In regard to the government, the ministry of education “is always a big place for PC’s and the army is also purchasing a lot of computers says Sheira.
“The government is trying to computerize all its systems to become more efficient. So I hope that people will learn how to use computers at a young age because even public sector employees will need to use them in the future, adds El Tatawy.
“There were big changes in the industry in the end of 2004 and 2005 in the way people started buying computers, says Sheira. “With the government lifting taxes and warranties and after sales on par with the global market, people are starting to shop at home.
