Outsourcing turning out to be Egypt’s leading industry

Over the last few years, outsourcing has emerged to be one of the leading businesses in Egypt. Quoting the communication minister of Egypt, a news website reported that the specific enticements offered by the government to the new business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in the country may help Egypt generate revenues worth $2 billion by 2013 and enhance it to $10 billion in the ensuing decade.

The CEO of the newly opened 1,000-seat call center that serves Stream Global Services, which also runs a satellite radio station, Mr. Tarek Kamel said that the government is of the view that the outsourcing industry will generate revenues worth $1.1 billion during the current fiscal year. He further said that they were seeking an incentive pack from the communications ministry and the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA). At the same time, Mr. Kamel pointed out that they were working to expand operations like setting up of technology parks to provide a boost to the offshoring industry.

Incidentally, in 2008, the Outsourcing Association honored Egypt with the celebrated award of the ‘Outsourcing Destination of the Year’ in London. Even the global industry analyst Tholons has ranked Egypt’s capital Cairo seventh internationally in its ‘Top 50 Emerging Global Outsourcing Cities Report’ for the year 2008. Ironically enough, about a decade back; Egypt did not have any specific ministry to deal with technology and communications. The ministry was eventually set up following the initiative of the country’s serving Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif who was optimist that if developed appropriately, this sector had the capability of evolving into one the most profitable businesses in the country.

While the sales pitch of Egypt rooted in the country’s position as one of the major and rapidly developing markets in the Arab world, it has to face tremendous competition from other regions of the globe where there are several markets are growing fast. Despite this, Egypt is optimist of being able to compete especially as a center for outsourcing activities – a field where the country has witnessed rapid development during the last few years. According to the chairman and CEO of Xceed, the country’s largest call center, Mr. Adel Danish, compared to South Africa, Egypt is much at the forefront in offshore outsourcing business and this has undergone a sea change during the last few years.

Mr. Danish said he believes that the country is moving in the right track since many entrepreneurs desiring serious offshore outsourcing business are now looking at Egypt. Substantiating his view, Mr. Danish cited the instance of Microsoft, which has shifted its XBOX technical support call center facility to Smart Village in Cairo and today all XBOX users worldwide seeking customer support are directed to the Xceed set up. In fact, Egypt’s strength lies in the fact that a vast multitude of its young generation are fluent in multiple languages – an essential quality for anyone to work in a call center. A visit to the Microsoft call center in Cairo will reveal young Egyptians fluently conversing in English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and other languages with clients from across the globe.