CAIRO: Nokia have announced the opening of a new Egypt office, which will also serve the North East African region, including Libya and Sudan. The company also launched its special edition N73 featuring Islamic applications.
Nokia currently employ 450 people in Egypt, and their new office will be managed by Eddy Rizk, formerly Nokia’s head of communications for the Middle East and Africa.
Both regions are among the fastest growing mobile phone markets in the world.
In Egypt alone, recent statistics released by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology reported that 24.4 million Egyptians are mobile subscribers, a six-fold increase since 2001.
“It is essential that we strengthen our presence here, said Timo Toikkanen, senior vice president of customer and market operations, Nokia Middle East and Africa.
“We have forecasted a global market of four billion subscriptions in 2010, up from the current level of three billion. We expect that nearly a quarter of the increase in subscriptions will come from this region.
The N73’s new Islamic applications will include a collection of Azkar for the morning and evening, an Islamic organizer, a Qibla direction indicator and a Hijri calendar.
A separate Hajj and Umrah application provides step-by-step descriptions for the Hajj and Umrah, while the Ramadaniat application explains all the instructions and rules for Ramadan.
“This new edition is a reflection of Nokia’s commitment to continuously provide consumers with tailored services, based on their needs and requirements, said Phil Gordon, Nokia’s vice president for multimedia in the Middle East and Africa.
