A delegation of 18 Egyptian companies is taking part in Gitex Riyadh 2009, held from 19-23 April, 2009. The Egyptian participation is sponsored by Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA).
The Egyptian delegation, comprising companies specialized in several fields, will be led by Software Engineering Competence Center (SECC) Chairman Dr. Gamal Mohamed Ali.
More than 400 companies from 15 countries are taking part in the Saudi event, held for the eighth year. The companies will showcase their production at Riyadh International Exhibition Center, a 15,000 square-meter center with a show hall. It is equipped with a communication center, a VIP hall, a media center, conference rooms, a service center for exhibitors, freight offices and parking lots.
This is the third consecutive year for Egypt to take part in the annual event in a bid to open new communication channels with the Gulf markets. The Egyptian participation comes as part of a strategy to boost cooperation with these markets and develop Egypt's exports of IT services and products.
The Egyptian participants were selected based on criteria earlier announced by ITIDA. The criteria comprised the five tracks of: a company's export capacity, specialization and its relation to the exhibition, conformity to the Egyptian information and communication technology (ICT) sector strategy, international quality certifications acquired and years of experience.
Dr. Ali said the Saudi ICT market is featured with several capacities like the human capital, the scientific potential and the software development and its related projects. SECC and ITIDA, he added, are keen to contribute to the exhibition for possible collaboration opportunities between Egyptian and Saudi companies. Saudi companies can also make use of the SECC expertise in acquiring Capability Maturity Model® Integration (CMMI).
Since June 2001, when it was established, till September 2006, SECC helped 31 Egyptian companies acquire CMMI certification in levels between two to five.
The main mission of SECC is to support the development of the software industry in Egypt through improving the software engineering practices to higher maturity levels and achieving a strong global market presence.
About ITIDA
Located in the heart of modern business environment at the Smart Village, The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) is a governmental entity spearheading the development of the Egyptian IT sector and increasing its global competitiveness. ITIDA, an affiliate of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), is tasked with the focal role in the developing the IT industry through identifying the needs of the local industry and addressing them with tailored programs. The agency is considered to be a one-stop-shop for foreign investors and a strategic advisor to Multi-National Companies (MNCs) investing in the Egyptian IT sector. It further plays a leading role in enhancing the Egyptian cyber security and data protection framework towards a more secure e-Business and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services positioning.
