The new country that is catching the attention of the world is Eqypt which is fastly emerging as the new IT/ITES Destination. The Government of Egypt has taken a key initiative in promoting the nation as an importnat player in the IT/ITES sphere. It is also noteworthy to observe that many Indian companies are also considering the option of setting up a strategic unit in Egypt to access the African Market. The other advantage of operating in Egypt is the cost advantage and the availaibility of skilled manpower. The Government also has developed an IT park called SMART VILLAGE which houses international companies like HP, Ericcson, Sun Microsystems etc. already Indian IT Majors like I-flex, Aptech and Wipro have started their Egyptian operations. Satyam computers is all set to open a development center in Smart Village.
Egypt has been ranked the thirteenth most attractive destination to set up an offshore service, according to a study by A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm. The study, which looked at 50 countries, was based on the evaluation of three main factors: financial structure, availability of skilled workers and overall business environment. As a result of reforms to Egypt’s business climate — such as lowering the cost of employment, the increased availability of attractive business properties like Smart Village and flexible income tax regulations — in addition to burgeoning language and computer skills on the part of the Egyptian population, Egypt is becoming a prime destination for India’s IT giants, who are coming to boost the industry as well as take advantage of Egypt’s underutilized workforce.
The Government of Egypt has also established an agency called Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) .The aim of this agency is to increase the exports of ICT products and services and increase the inward investments into Egypt.
It should be a strategic insight for Indian companies to look for options in Egypt when the companies are feeling the heat for overdependance on the US Market . The pressure on margins can also be decreased by penetrating into new markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
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