|
HybridIT decided to set up a
software development warehouse in Egypt
in 2006.Egypt has the largest talent base of any country in the Middle East, and is home to an increasing number of
outsourcing centers operated by multinationals. Indian outsourcing vendors
Satyam and Wipro are continuing their worldwide expansion by setting up centers
in Egypt.
Why did the HybridIT choose Cairo, Egypt
as a location?
Availability of skilled
resources
Egypt is competitive in terms of
providing well-educated potential HybridIT software developers. This is due to
the 200,000+ graduates that leave universities each year. This very high number
is accentuated by the focus on information technology within these
institutions, with approximately 80 000 students graduating in this domain annually.
All HybridIT software developers are either already Microsoft accredited or on
the path to completing their certificatons.
Irish Onsite Project
Manager Team
HybridIT
recognised the need to have a European project manager onsite to understand
Western companies expectations and national culture.
Peter Andersen
is HybridIT’s software project manager onsite.
Peter has enjoyed a successful career as software developer
and systems architect in some of the larger European companies including three
years developing embedded software for Nokia. He moved to Cairo in 2006 to head up
the software development team.
Language and time zones
The Egyptian labor force is
known for its proficiency in western languages. This is because at the
university level, instruction is carried out predominantly in English, with
some institutions focusing on French and German. There are also several very
large post-secondary institutions located in Egypt
funded by foreign governments, including the United
States, Canada,
France and Germany, all
which produce many multilingual graduates annually. It is also important to
note that the spoken languages in Egypt are reputed to be
accent-neutral. The majority of educated Egyptians can speak English and as Cairo is on a similar time zone to Europe,
you will not have to wait 24 hours before you can talk with your outsourcing
partner.
Continued government
support
The Egyptian government
continues to work diligently to make Egypt a location of choice for
outsourcing companies. Some of the key initiatives include
- The flotation of the
Egyptian pound on global currency markets
- Labor law changes that
provide flexibility for recruitment and employment termination, as well as
mediation for labor disputes in order to avoid strike
- An end to the government
monopoly over the fixed-line telephone network at the end of 2005
- A continued emphasis on
public security which has been recognized by investors from the world
over. As an example of validation, the US Commercial Department recently
rated Egypt’s
security atmosphere as excellent
- In addition to numerous tax
breaks provided for targeted domestic and foreign contact center
investment, the Egyptian government has recently announced a drop in
corporate income tax from 40% to 20%
Risk management
Increasing numbers of
western investors are diversifying their outsourcing location portfolio to
include new national markets and see Egypt as a safe and sophisticated
location in which to house their outsourcing facility.
Ease of access
Egypt’s
relatively easy accessibility, especially from Western
Europe. It is also a very important tourist destination. Therefore
business trips to Cairo
to visit the HybridIT offices can be both productive and enjoyable.
|
