ITIDA: Corporate Data Confirm Success of 86 IT Egyptian Participant Firms

Following the Egyptian participation at Gitex Dubai 2012, expectations to strike deals and sales estimated at a minimum of 8.5 million dollars (approximately 58 million Egyptian pounds) were announced by 12 Egyptian firms only out of the 18 exhibitor companies.

The Egyptian participation is the largest of its kind in its history in terms of the number of companies sponsored by Information Technology Information Development Agency (ITIDA).

This comes in the framework of ITIDA’s keenness to follow-up and evaluate the activities of the Egyptian companies recently participated at the events of the exhibition.

In the data they sent for ITIDA, Egyptian companies explained that Gitex Dubai 2012 was a great opportunity to introduce its visitors to their products and business prospects amid growing presence of guests at the Egyptian pavilion.

Comprising of18 exhibitor companies specialized in ICT products and services along with 68 Egyptian visitor firms at this year’s fair, the Egyptian pavilion witnessed the highest flow rate of visitors, estimated at around 1530 compared to 1325 last year.

The number of potential customers is 348, with the scope of turning to real ones after the follow-up processes and conversations between these clients and Egyptian companies to take place following the end of the exhibition.

In the same context, Nour Shawky, General Manager and one of the co-founders of Softec International, a leading company in software development and services asserted that the firm has already concluded contracts and deals during the time of the exhibition.

Striking the deals, Softec International will be the sole and exclusive suppliers for the technology of transport fleet management and its tracking via GPS, and sales tracking and organization programs for the first Palestinian mobile service provider in Palestine, Jawwal, as well as for the largest auto supplier company in Saudi Arabia, Abdul Latif Jameel.

Mr Shawky praised ITIDA’s role in supporting and assisting companies to promote their products and penetrate foreign markets through international exhibitions, which have helped Softec International to achieve exports of up to 500 thousand dollars ( around 3 million and 400 thousand Egyptian pounds).

Mona Mahrous, Sales Manager of Human IT Solutions, a leading corporation in human resources management software in the Middle East and Africa, confirmed that this year’s participation was a strong one for the Egyptian pavilion because of its positive impact on export development for Egyptian companies.

Through its participation at Gitex Dubai 2012, Human IT Solutions was able to open direct communication channels as well as conducting earnest discussions with a number of prospective clients in both public and private sectors in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Participating for the very first time, Vivifi, a company that produces touch screen adhesive stickers denoted that the exhibition was a great opportunity, for it was able to communicate with existing clients in addition to holding talks with new ones.

 These touch screen adhesive stickers were founded by the Egyptian inventor Haitham Desoky, the first place winner of the ‘Stars of Science’ program organized by Qatar Foundation for Education Science and Community Development last year.

Vivifi asserted it is about to seal many deals, one of which is with a French company to develop multi-touch conference tables to facilitate control process in audio, visual and lighting mediums in conference rooms.

During the events of Gitex Dubai 2012, Vivifi reached an agreement with an American company to develop monitor screens and transfer them into touch ones. A similar agreement was also concluded with a company from the UAE to provide the same service.

Additionally, communicating with a Jordanian current customer firm took place. Vivifi recently contracted with this Jordanian company to develop ‘smart board’, the latest educational device used in education technology, into a touch interactive smart board without changing the board itself, thus saving the Jordanian company enormous costs.

Under the auspices of ITIDA and participating for the first time in Gitex Dubai 2012, an Egyptian company, refusing to disclose its name to protect itself against competition, asserted it was about to seal deals worth of 2 million US dollars with clients from Libya, Jordon and Iraq.

This Egyptian company, one of the pioneering in communications and technology solutions in the Middle East, Africa and the Gulf area, provides a number of services, most importantly are infrastructure services and communication solutions via mobile phones.

Companies expectations of the size of deals comes in line with their discussions with potential customers and successful meeting held with them, in addition to the technological products and solutions that were of a great interest to these clients.

CEO, Mr Yasser El-Kady, stated that ITIDA, through the exhibition, succeeded in achieving its goals of participation, which are to intensify the Egyptian presence in international IT forums, as well as maximizing the benefit of these exhibitions for all participating companies.

Mr El-Kady pointed out that the expected deal volumes, announced by companies, confirms that Egyptian corporations are capable of competing in the global markets and that their technological products and solutions are of great deal of quality and professionalism.

Furthermore, the Egyptian participations in exhibitions and international forums, which ITIDA sponsors and allocates various programs to meet the needs of different companies, have contributed in increasing opportunities of penetrating new markets.

Data of Export IT program indicate that adopting this strategy over the past few years has helped 48 ICT companies, maintained to participate in international forums, to obtain total export receipts of approximately 93 million dollars, an equivalent of 562 million Egyptian pounds.

As soon as the events of Gitex Dubai 2012 concluded, the process of evaluating Egyptian companies started through distributing questionnaire forms to companies in order to detect their opinions on arrangement process, participation outcome and other details to guide ITIDA in organizing Egyptian participation at international forums.

This year’s participation is ITIDA’s seventh consecutive one, a positive step to create partnership opportunities, increase Egyptian exports of IT products and services to several markets, among which is the GCC market.

This contributes in achieving the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) strategy of increasing Egyptian exports from IT products and services to reach 2 billion dollars by 2013.