The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology’s strategy, which combines the private and government sectors, and civil society organisations, aims to reach a domestic production of EGP 195bn in 2020, compared to EGP 66bn in 2014, Minister Yasser El-Qadi recently announced.
The would represent a 8.4% share in gross domestic product (GDP), compared to 4.1% in 2014. The strategy aims to create up to 250,000 direct job opportunities and one million direct and indirect jobs.
During a sohoor held by the Egyptian Information, Telecommunication, Electronics and Software Alliance (EITESAL) on Monday, EITESAL chairperson Hazem El-Tahawy said the alliance’s strategy is in line with the government’s strategy.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the Egyptian ICT market is forecasted to grow by $8.95bn in 2016 compared to 2015, to reach $10.32bn in 2019. The growth will be the result of spending on information technology and software services that will see a compound annual growth rate estimated to be 9% in 2019.
During the sohoor, Al-Qadi said the ICT sector is the second largest sector in Egypt in terms of growth. He attributed the growth to the state’s keenness on integrating technology and IT tools in many government sectors across various fields, for the positive impact they could have on the overall growth rates in society.
EITESAL was founded in 2004 through the merger of the Egyptian High Tech Association (EHITA), founded in 1996, with the Egyptian Software Alliance (ESA), founded in 1997. Together, they formed a strong organisation representing the entire Egyptian ICTE industry. Thus, EITESAL became the oldest and most unique institution of its kind in the field of communications and information technology.
