The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has witnessed the signing of an agreement of cooperation between the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Global Solutions to establish a Shared Services center in Egypt.
The Center will be the first of its kind for MAF Group, a leading expert in development and asset management, specializing in retail-led super regional malls spread in prime locations across Middle East, Africa and Asia. The Group aims to provide Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Shared Services to clients around the world from its center in Egypt.
The ICT Minister stressed that BPO is one of the labor-intensive industries that the state attaches great importance to, since Egypt possesses all the keys to success for this industry, and given the country’s regional leadership and remarkable standing on the global map of the BPO and offshoring services industry. Egypt is also one of the top destinations for international companies to expand their businesses and establish specialized centers.
Talaat stressed that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) is keen to create an enabling environment for the growth of the BPO industry and the increase of digital exports, with working to overcome the obstacles facing investors, and upskilling and qualifying young Egyptians for professional work in that field.
Pursuant to the agreement, MAF undertakes to establish its operations in Egypt with the main objective of providing Shared Services operations, including accounting, HR, procurement and IT services operating in but not limited to Middle East, Africa and Asia, aiming to employ a minimum of 600 additional new Egyptian employees over the course of the agreement, directed primarily to export activities.
ITIDA CEO Amr Mahfouz stated that MAF decision to invest in and choose Egypt to outsource its operations from reflects Egypt's great appeal as a favorable destination for Shared Services and specialized global service centers, and enhances the country’s standing as one of the top countries with the highest growth rates of BPO and offshoring services.
ITIDA is working to develop and boost Egyptian exports of IT products and services to various global markets, which contributes to creating job opportunities for young people in global export-oriented service centers. This will also help attract more foreign investments to the sector, especially with the heightened demand following the excellence of the Egyptian BPO sector and service providers’ resilience and success in business continuity and in absorbing the pressure on the infrastructure amid the pandemic.
For his part, MAF Global Solutions CEO Khaled El Chidiac said the company was pleased to cooperate with ITIDA through the Shared Services center to serve the markets where MAF operates in different countries, and to leverage Egypt's competitive advantages, most notably its wide talent pool.
El Chidiac highlighted that MAF will work with ITIDA in a partnership framework out of the former’s commitment to investing in local talent, training young people, participating in enhancing experiences and creating direct and indirect job opportunities for Egyptian youth. Within the next few months, MAF will work to attract young people of the highest caliber and talents to join its team to embark on the transformation journey that will lay the foundation for the sustainable growth of the company’s business.
