Year 1995 & the First Steps: It witnessed the birth date of ICT as a concept:

To create a meeting place for amateurs and professionals alike in the IT business field (Cairo ICT exhibitors). But it seemed the PC market was quite unwelcoming, let alone the fact that no IT infrastructure was laid so far.
The stage was bare; nothing existed beyond the infant local PC industries which never harboured the idea of organizing events as such. Likewise, Multinational companies were left in the dark about what was going on in the Egyptian market and so, directing their investment to our market was even unthinkable.

1996 Planning started on the real ground for a better show that year:

Therefore, special attention was devoted to organization. This is where the German partner did an efficient job, particularly with regard to the conference details. In becoming an integrated forum for the exchange of thoughts and ideas regarding the upgrading of IT potentials and not merely a place where business transactions are concluded, the ICT gained itself an additional value in both the business and IT circles.
Among key planners for the 1996 ICT conference was Dr. Tarek Kamel, the current Minister of Communications and Information Technology who devoted his expertise in running technology events towards the ideal organization of the conference.
The opening attended by several Egyptian ministers like Safwat El Sherif, Suliman Metwally as well as by dignitaries and high ranking officials came out glamorous.
Though the event was mainly dominated by local entrepreneurs, many well established Arab firms – such as Etisalat of UAE - were among the top list of participants.
It is worth noting, international participation was solicited at a large scale, yet the result was not quite positive as business chances were quite limited in such a narrow market like ours, particularly with a monopoly of the ICT activity at that time by Egypt Telecom. Yet, among these multinationals some – such as Alcatel, Siemens, Motorola, Ericsson, Lucent and Three Com - had
the expert vision not to refrain from having a foothold in the Egyptian market.
Currently, these companies are practically the market leaders in the telecom sector in Egypt.
IT giants - particularly in the sector of data such as NCR, IBM and Microsoft were also present in the 1996 ICT.

1997 Concern over maintaining success:

It was overwhelming, particularly with the announcement made by COMDEX – the renowned American IT fair- that it will soon be represented in Egypt.
Therefore, there was a fierce competition to anticipate, particularly with the high turn out on the part of IT companies in favour of COMDEX due to its solid reputation.
On the other hand, the fact that the 1995 ICT was mainly devoted to telecom service providers excluded other categories of participants.
Yet, it is important to draw attention to the fact that the dominant share in the 1996 ICT given to telecom sector is justified by the peak in telecommunications businesses witnessed at that time, around which our activities had to revolve.
Therefore, our activities had to be consistent, bearing in mind that IT- either locally or globally - was not yet on its current prosperous track.
The year 1997 is also remembered in terms of politics, as unexpected requests for participation in ICT came from Israel, then making its way strongly in IT and telecom fields.
Israel's several requests for participation - denied even on the level of non official visits- were explained by its wish to feature as the technology gateway to the Middle East.

1999 The event was supposed to run for the third consecutive year:

A different date had to be selected for logistical purposes this year.
January was the alternative date many foreign international participants found more convenient. Likewise, the 1999 ICT is remembered, but by what we can term as a bid for “haggling”, as the exhibition hall was reserved by another organizer at the customary time of the event.
It was up to us if we wished to retrieve the hall in return for $100.000. But we turned down the offer and shifted the event into the other date. When competition is considered, similar exhibitions in the calendar of a single year should be outlined. In the same year the Cairo ICT was supposed to see the light in January, while GITEX was scheduled for April, COMDEX for May and finally ACITEX of Al-Ahram organization to be held annually in February.
So within only the span of six months there was a jam of competing events.
Yet first to remember is how the participation of Mobinil was a real incentive.
Mobinil’s presence in the event - out of its drive to promote the use of mobile phones – attracted a huge number of visitors. Therefore, it was decided to launch a separate shopping pavilion in the forthcoming year. The unprecedented visit of top ranking Arab state officials including ministers and other dignitaries was indicative of the fact that the ICT was coming further into the limelight. The event hosted more than 110 exhibitors in all telecom Internet and IT fields, with the participation share in favour of IT companies. At a certain time it seemed it was such a risky bet to expect promising results out of trade fairs other than food stuff or fashion. But in fact the new technology put on display turned out to be a safer bet. Capitalizing on the success gained so far, it was proposed to stretch the scope of the event beyond the limits of the local market. Instead of venturing into the already saturated Gulf, our sight turned towards North Africa. This is where our upcoming event - Morocco Telecomp - was planned. It was at that time that the
German partner decided to go through that project with other entrepreneurs, thus bringing to an end the partnership with our company.

 

2000 The success gained every year never blinded us to the fact that more:

Difficulties were ahead. Competitors dissatisfied with their performance over the past year, decided to brace for more competition. It seemed then every body was geared towards fulfilment at any cost.
The race was even more powerful to win the trust of the newly launched ministry of communication and information technology headed by Dr Ahmed Nazief. Throughout the race rounds COMDEX fell behind and walked out while GITEX – relying on a direct support from Dubai – insisted to press on till the end.
But this came to nothing and that year happened to witness the end of its business in the Egyptian market. So, Cairo ICT was left as the one and only player in the IT and telecom scene, grabbing the interest of an increasing number of companies which - for the first time - exceeded 200 by the
year 2000.Here it is of crucial importance to note that the business of "exporting exhibitions"
(Organizing events in foreign markets) is not a smooth task. The failure of COMDEX when it was held outside the USA is powerful evidence. In fact organizing exhibitions has more to do with the ambience where the event is held and not only the image of the exhibition.

 

2001:

This year was special in more than one way as The ICT witnessed the visit of the head of International Telecom Union along with many African and Arab ministers, in response to an invitation by Dr. Nazif. Furthermore, that year brought Cairo ICT as the sole technology event, representing a real window for local companies on IT and telecommunications worldwide, and equally for international business leaders seeking access to the Egyptian market.
The ICT had a noticeable advantage over other similar events in being the magnet for different categories of shoppers due to the presence of mobile phone and ISP's ICT Business Report 16 ICT Business Report 17 companies which started to gain a bigger foothold in the market.
Moreover, the 2001 ICT devoted a whole pavilion bearing the name "e-town" where high tech, Internet and online companies displayed their wide range of services.
It was also the first time an equal share was given to the IT and telecom sectors seen in the fair presentation of multimedia and hardware companies.

 

2002:

In 2002, competition was nothing to worry about as JITEX and COMDEX were already out of the Egyptian market.
Yet, ICT had to stand another test as the opening was supposed to take place only three months after the 11th Sept 2001 which brought world markets to a standstill.
Marketing the event was an uphill task. Further more, many telecom and IT companies – representing a considerable number of the ICT clients were already gone to the Africa Telecom
which, held earlier in October.
Once more it was as if the ICT was destined to meet more difficulties as the organizers were informed almost 3 days before the ICT opening that President Mubarak was going to attend the ICT opening.
Nevertheless, the 2002 ICT which carried the slogan "Two Steps Ahead" lived another successful experience when it witnessed the launch of the "Free Internet" initiative which brought up the number of Internet users to more than 1 million in 2002 and almost 5 million in 2006.
It is worth noting the 2002 ICT saw a notable participation of the MCIT through an independent pavilion which displayed the ministry's achievements in the area of upgrading "IT society".
On the other hand, the ICT conference was able to boast a series of sessions discussing vital issues such as E- Learning, E-Health, and E-Gov.

 

2003 All About Partnership:

If the German partnership was at a certain period a true back-up to the company, it was the support of Dr. Ahmed Nazif - then Minister of Communications and Information Technology - which gave the event a better chance for repeated success.
In fact President Mubarak' visit to the 2002 ICT supplied the event withweight which served to attract more companies and visitors alike to the 2003 ICT.
After the "Free Dial up Internet" initiative of 2002, the MCIT took the ICT as the launching pad for more consecutive initiatives. In 2003, the MCIT declared its "PC for Every Home" initiative which involved many private sector companies. In the same year, shopping was carried out in a separate pavilion which attracted a huge number of visitors who were allowed to benefit from the facility of one step shopping. It was pride to the ICT that the sales volume achieved for clients was equal to that achieved throughout a whole year.
The stimulating activities such as the live panel described as a "forum for thought exchange" and the "Free Internet" seminar which reviewed the results accomplished since the launch of the initiative were key topics in the ICT conference.

2004 All About Competition:

Competition was strongly the headline that year as Africa Telecom was scheduled to be held in Egypt.
It was even assumed by some the ICT was scheduled for postponement.
But postponement was never a choice.
One here can recall the incessant support of the MCIT officials when they decided to take part in the ICT though the Africa Telecom in which they also participated was only 5 months earlier.
The 2004 event carried the slogan "The Age of Mobility" – a concept no longer confined to mobile phones, which also includes all modern technologies that present mobility and wireless approaches.
It is worth mentioning the 2004 ICT grabbed the participants' interest as it was held after the WSIS (World Summit of Information Society -2003).
Arab and African delegates came to the ICT where they discussed the summit results in a session chaired by Dr. Tarek Kamel among other 50 sessions which gathered developers from both Egypt and the whole Middle East.
Of particular interest was the "Broadband" initiative seminar which tackled the difficulties
impeding Broadband uses in Egypt.
The seminar came out with the conclusion that pricing – along with applications - are decisive factors in the promotion of Broadband.
4 months later, the "Broadband" initiative saw the light with offers starting from LE150.

2005 The World of Tomorrow;

The 2005 ICT which adopted the slogan "Access the World of Tomorrow" started to reap the fruits of the credibility it managed to achieve in the previous years.
In this respect the ICT became the voice through which concerns and ambitions related to the nascent IT industry were expressed.
This was the focus point that year, meanwhile addressing a new angle, namely to render IT and telecommunication industries interactive with other sectors.
It is worth noting, the conference on the margin of the exhibition was the most successful one ever held during the ICT life.
A bridge was built, connecting the IT world - through the ICT – to sectors of petroleum, transportation, tourism, education, mass media and other sectors of industry.
The new cabinet included many ministers with powerful IT background such as
Dr. Ahmed Darwish – the current Administrative Development Minister who was previously in charge of the E-government project.
It was not really a difficult task to have the big gallery of local, regional and international companies as participants as a new 6000 meter hall was added to the ICT which received the extra 30% bookings for participation.

2006 The X Generation:

Under the slogan, “The X Generation”, the official inauguration of Cairo ICT 2006 on February 5th witnessed a large number of ministers and government officials headed by HE Dr. Tarek Kamel – Minister of Communications & Information Technology, during which the ICT minister announced offering two licenses for international communications and four licenses of E-Signing, the bidding schedule for the third mobile network, as well as the official launch of the “Low Cost PC Initiative”.
HE Dr. Tarek Kamel and TradeFairs International (organizer of Cairo ICT) honored on this occasion distinguished ICT figures at this year’s gala dinner hosted by Telecom Egypt – Official Sponsor of Cairo ICT 2006; and attended by over 700 invitees. The closing session saw the honoring of ICT companies for the number of participations at Cairo ICT since its inceptions among those companies where: Telecom Egypt, Etisalat, Siemens, Huawei Technologies, Flag Telecom, Ericsson, Lucent Technologies and many others.
450 exhibitors from 30 countries representing over 1000 companies participated at Cairo ICT 2006 on a total area of 20,000 m2, a 45% increase in exhibition space as compared to 2005 (including Cairo ICT 2006 Consumer section – The Mall).
For the first time since its inception Cairo ICT 2006 international and regional participations represented nearly 70% of the total exhibitors.

2007 A New Dimension of Cairo ICT Trade Fair & Forum:

Under the slogan “The Shape of Things to Come”, Cairo ICT 2007 brought a concept of visualizing what the future holds for the ICT industry and the Arab region at large as it relates to new solutions and services, economic growth and regional investment. Cairo ICT 2007 opened its doors on February 4th to receive an unprecedented number of prominent ministers, government officials, dignitaries, businessmen and VIP figures from the ICT industry headed by Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communications & Information Technology.
Renowned ministers toured the four exhibitions halls, commenting on the new dimension Cairo ICT took this year and noticed the success it accomplished by doubling both the number of participants and international attendees. Followed by the official opening session with the CIT minister as the keynote speaker and Minister of Finance Dr. Youssef Boutros Ghali gave a presentation as a guest speaker. Panelists on additional forums included: Eng. Akil Beshir – Chairman Telecom Egypt, Mr. Amr Badawi – Executive Director National Telecom Regulatory Authority, Eng. Mohamed Omran – Chairman Etisalat U.A.E, Mr. Ian Grey – CEO Vodafone Egypt and Mr. Omar Hijazi – CEO Tijari Holding, with moderator Ms. Lamis El Hadidy debating and questioning the panelists and speakers on their visions and views of the future of technology in the ICT industry.
The session speakers concluded that further investments in the Middle East, particularly in the ICT industry, would be needed to continue developing the region. Moreover, the ministers also agreed that technology will affect every industry; it will help improve social sectors such as health & education. Panelists added that with competition still rising; the future still has so much more to offer.
Exhibitor Breakdown

More than 500 VIPs, businessmen and government officials from the region, attended the Cairo ICT 2007 opening session, headed by Minister of Communication & Information Technology Dr. Tarek Kamel. With guest speaker, Minister of Finance Dr. Youssef Boutros Ghali, the opening followed the conference title, “The Shape of Things to Come.” The session opened a gateway to discuss the challenges facing the Arab world and the need to cope with fast moving pace of technology. The general consensus was to either adopt ICT or remain behind the times. The speakers agreed that technology was no longer a choice, but the only option for countries to develop, improve and advance.

Cairo ICT 2007 had more than 33 official conference sessions, 24 significant corporate announcements, press conferences, workshops and roundtables. More than 10,000 conference attendees, delegates, speakers, consultants and professors attended the four-day conference.
The business sessions confirmed the correlation between ICT and important business, industrial and social sectors. New government initiatives in health & education were announced to the public for the first time during Cairo ICT, by Dr. Hoda Baraka, senior advisor to the minister, who adeptly moderated these sessions. Government services, social solidarity, and financial solutions were thoroughly discussed and debated by the relevant ministers and selective local and international experts.

The technology sessions tackled issues such as the impact of 3G services in Egypt by a 3rd mobile operator, which has been a controversial subject in the Egyptian ICT industry. The sessions brought together the country’s three mobile operators in a roundtable discussion to debate their views, challenges and strategies to selective guests. The four-day conference also covered topics such as next generation networks, Internet 2, IP Networks, convergence of services and data storage.

Cairo ICT 2007, the 11th year of the conference, proved to be not only a regional platform for the ICT industry to showcase their most innovative and ground-breaking technologies but also a local showcase of Egypt’s government initiatives and announcements. During the conference the following declarations were brought to the light by both the exhibitors & government officials:
- HE Dr. Tarek Kamel – Minister of Communication & Information Technology:
Announced the launch of Egypt’s 2010 PC Initiative with a long-term aim of selling 5,000-6,000 PCs annually until the end of 2010 at a more affordable price and convenient payment method. HE Dr. Kamel also made public the lowering of the DSL initiative to become LE 95 per month.
- HE Dr. Hatem El-Gabali – Minister of Health & Population:
Presented the Egyptian Health Services Development Initiative under the auspices of HE Suzan Mubarak, the initiative which was discussed during the Davos World Economic forum aiming at developing the healthcare service in Egypt through the adoption of ICT tools, with a main focus on further development of employee/worker skills and enhancing the healthcare units in 2nd and 3rd tier hospitals.
Egypt Post Organization:
Launched the first Egyptian e-mail portal “Misr Mail,” which offers a variety of new electronic services and a free Egyptian email account to all users.
Etisalat Misr:
Officially launched Egypt’s third mobile license with live demonstration of a diversified number of different 3.5 G applications.
Microsoft Egypt:
Uncovered the long-awaited Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007

2008 The World Is Changing…

"The World As You Know It…Is Now Changing" was a very true statement during the last few months of 2007, and became particularly true as 2008 hit the calendar. So, what better slogan to come up with than that? This slogan/concept targeted each and every sector present at Cairo ICT in 2008. The World As You Know it in Mobility is Now Changing. The World As You Know it in Money is Now Changing. The World As You Know it in Media in Now Changing. The World As You Know it in Management is now Changing.

The annual forum which runs in parallel to the Fair played a major role in instilling this message of change, by selecting topics that discuss various changes in all four sectors: Mobility, Money, Media, and Management. It gave the participants the necessary exposure and latest solutions offered in various sectors, and this was done by a selected number of key note speakers and renowned panellists.

The Fair also did the same by featuring sectors such as the Banking and Finance. A partnership agreement was signed with Smart Villages Egypt by which a "Smart Village Financial District" was built at Cairo ICT 2008. Exhibiting in it, were tenants of the actual Financial District at Smart Village, and they had the opportunity to introduce there new state of the art services and technologies to both fellow exhibitors and visitors. In addition, the same took place in all the other regular sectors exhibiting at Cairo ICT. The latest in mobility and broadband was available, as well as in the telecommunications and Information Technology. It was a concept that was widely appreciated by all those attending the Fair and did truly assist in providing insight and guidelines to how the World is changing in different vital sectors of business.
So again, Cairo ICT proved to be the right place to be for decision makers and those seeking the latest in the world of ICT.

2009 Know Before You Go …

"Know Before You Go" was the slogan of this difficult year. The Global Financial Crisis had hit hard, and the World was waiting in anticipation to see where all this was going…where it was leading to. Meanwhile, it was Cairo ICT's thirteenth round and it was of vital importance to us as organizers to make it as successful as all other years. Therefore, 2009 was an immense challenge to the team and proved to be a growing one as the months leading up to Cairo ICT became closer and closer.

Yet, we were adamant to make this round a successful one and came up with various concepts to enhance the market situation and accommodate to the temporary modified requests/demands of exhibitors and visitors alike. Sectors such as the Financial and Real Estate were strongly present at both "The Financial Lounge" and "The Future Living Lounge". Both were gladly welcomed by visitors and other exhibitors alike, as they served many interests on the corporate and commercial levels.

While we cannot deny that a bulk of the regular companies in fields such as Telecommunications and Information Technology were affected by the crisis, they still wished to be present at Cairo ICT 2009. Since its establishment, Cairo ICT has developed and maintained a personal relationship with all its clients in a form of a partnership. A concept appreciated highly by all exhibitors and hence loyalty and continuous participation from their side has always been apparent.

So, we opted to accommodate their circumstances and maybe for the first time redesigned the floor plan and design of Halls 1, 2, and 3 for this very purpose. The outcome was amazing and yet again for the thirteenth consecutive year we made it…Cairo ICT 2009 was a hit despite the crisis…despite the rumours that spread prior to its date that it will be called off…despite the challenges and downturns…despite everything…we did not let our clients down or our visitors and partners. "Know Before You Go" helped those in various fields be up-to-date with all major occurrences and developments and provided useful tools for decision makers to use while taking important decisions for their companies. Cairo ICT 2009 was, by the testimonials given by its major participants and regulars an unanticipated success, and an appreciated one.

Cairo ICT 2009 once again proved itself as the premier event in the Middle East and Africa for professionals to network while demonstrating their products and services. From February 8-11, Cairo ICT hosted regional business leaders, government officials, foreign dignitaries and VIPs to discuss the current state of the ICT industry in Egypt, the region and the world at large.

The four exhibition halls played host to delegations from some of the largest players in the industry, as well as key ministry figures. The sheer size of the exhibition and the number of attendees was impressive to everyone in attendance, fulfilling its slogan, “Know Before you Go.”

Keynote speakers H.E Dr. Tarek Kamel, Egyptian Minister of Communication and Information Technology (CIT) and H.E Eng. Ahmed El Magrabi Minister of Housing, Utilities & Urban Development, launched the first of many Forum discussions. They tackled key issues facing the ICT sector including:

• Changing the way we Build and the way we Live
• For a More Professional ICT Retail Market
• Crisis or No Crisis: Make Up your Mind
• How can we all pull through the Financial Crisis: The Financial sector & its plan to overcome a crisis, and a debate as to whether there is actually one or not
• Submarine Cables & Satellite Communications: Do They Compete
• From e-government to e- governance : More Distribution Channels for Services Delivery

Cairo ICT Expands Size & Scope

Cairo ICT has grown tremendously in the past decade both in size and scope. Each year the organizers of Cairo ICT, TradeFairs International, deliver an exhibition that is relevant and beneficial to the exhibitors and visitors. Cairo ICT 2009 did just that.

Highlights of new features at Cairo ICT 2009:

• MCIT Booth: The Ministry of Communication & Information Technology has always been the prime supporter of Cairo ICT ever since its establishment. Not only by having the Fair under the auspices of H.E the Minister, but by having continuous channels of communication between the Ministry and the Organizers of Cairo ICT from one year to the next. In its 13th round, the Ministry decided to further expand its scope of participation and support. It did so by exhibiting in Hall 4 at the Fair, known at Cairo ICR 2009 as "The Smart Village Hall".
  
  
• Future Living Lounge: Highlights real estate developers and solution providers who are adopting the latest technologies. During the exhibition a dedicated area was created to assist home seekers find which compounds, cities or projects provide day-to-day living with the latest technology. The exhibitors included renowned companies in the market that provide state of the art living luxuries, taking the concept of "Future Living" to another level. Displaying their latest services at the lounge were: Talaat Mostafa Group, Palm Hills Development, Amer Group, SODIC, EMS, Telsol, Commercial and Cisco.
  
  
• Smart Village Hall: In a full partnership agreement between Cairo ICT & Smart Villages Company (SVC), the main technology hall (Hall 4) was known at Cairo ICT 2009 as: "The Smart Village Hall". All exhibitors at Hall 4 resided in Smart Village Cairo, which is labelled as the region's premier ICT business park.
  
  
• Financial Lounge: ICT has become an essential part of the financial industry. Cairo ICT ’09 reflected this by expanding the presence of financial institutions through creating “The Financial Lounge". The concept behind the lounge was to provide a prime location with all necessary equipments and know-how for residents to display their products. While also ensuring that comfortable lounges were available with the latest LCD screens and "Real Time" ones, giving an opportunity for visitors to discuss various issues of concern. The Lounge was a "Mini Davos", and succeeded in its aim as assured by both the residents and visitors alike. Among those residing in the lounge and sharing the experience with Cairo ICT were: The Egyptian Arab Land Bank, Bank of Alexandria, Banque Du Caire, Banque Misr, The Egyptian Exchange, and Egypt for Information Dissemination (EGID), alongside the Lounge's main sponsor PRIME Holding.
  
  
• Malaysian Pavilion: As the guest of honour at Cairo ICT ’09, the government of Malaysia visited Cairo ICT ’09 with a delegation of business leaders alongside hosting its own pavilion for Malaysian companies. Numerous B 2 B meetings took place with delegates from Malaysia, and the road was paved during the Fair for such meetings to develop into potential venturing in the future.

Government Shows Outstanding Support:

As always, the public-sector support for Cairo ICT 2009 remains to be exceptional. The attendance of ministers and high-level government officials illustrates the Egyptian government’s value of Cairo ICT towards supporting growth in the regional and local ICT industry. In addition, Cairo ICT received international support from the government of Malaysia and the Malaysian embassy in Egypt.

Ministers in Attendance at Cairo ICT 2009:

• HE Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communication and Information Technology
• HE Eng. Ahmed El Magrabi Minister of Housing, Utilities& Urban Development
• HE Dr. Ahmed Darwish, Minister of State for Administrative Development
• HE Dr. Ali Moselhy, Minister of Social Solidarity
• HE Eng. Mohamed Mansour Minister of Transportation

Foreign Chambers of Commerce Visited Cairo ICT 09’’

A number of prominent visitors have expressed admiration of the exhibition structure and quality of exhibitors among them were the Malaysian delegation headed by the Ambassador H.E. Datuk Zainal Abideen Abd Kadir, H.E. the British Ambassador Dominic Asquith, H.E. the American Ambassador Margaret Scobey, and Economic and Commercial Counselors and Commercial Attaché's of U.S.A, Britain, Finland, Germany, Poland, France, Cyprus, Romania, Kenya and China. A large number of members of business associations, namely the British Egyptian Business Association, BEBA, and the Egyptian Finnish Business Association, EFBA have visited the exhibition and attended a number of conference sessions.

Foreign Visitors Look to Cairo ICT for New Business:

Penetrating new markets is often a difficult and time consuming process. Cairo ICT facilitates this process by providing established players and newcomers alike an opportunity to interact. Visitors from around the world came to Cairo ICT 2009, reinforcing its status as the premier event in the region for professionals to network.

For companies with an existing presence in Egypt and the region, Cairo ICT helped develop relationships with local partners by encouraging new avenues of cooperation and investment. For entrants to Egypt and the region, Cairo ICT highlighted the most promising areas of new business while introducing insiders and experts as entry points to promising opportunities.

In fact, 73% of Cairo ICT exhibitors reported positive prospects for engaging in new business from attending the exhibition.

Some of the countries exhibitors came from included:

Malaysia, Finland, France, India, England, USA, Canada, China, Libya, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey.

A Huge Affair:

Cairo ICT takes place at the Cairo International Conference Center (CICC), filling four exhibition halls totalling an area of 25,000 m2, in addition to "The Mall", a special retail shopping area, giving visitors a chance to buy directly from technology providers. Cairo ICT 2009 hosted 350 exhibitors and co-exhibitors representing 810 international and regional companies that interacted with distinguished guests from more than 27 countries.

The exhibitors were divided among the four halls as follows:

• Hall 1: Information Technology & Government
• Hall 2: ICT Hardware & Electronics
• Hall 3: Networking, Communications & Financial Institutions
• Hall 4 (Smart Village Hall): Operators & Telecom Service Providers

Exhibitors Fulfill Objectives

Exhibitors at Cairo ICT share many of the same objectives found at similar large-scale events around the world. Almost all exhibitors reported that their main purpose during Cairo ICT was sales & marketing. The majority also utilized the event for public relations, maintaining relationships and creating awareness about their products and services. Several exhibitors also attended to observe the market because of the diverse participation and compelling discussions at Cairo ICT.

Exhibitors Give A High Ranking:

As usual, the organizer of Cairo ICT, Trade Fairs International, received great attribution and high ranking for the thirteenth consecutive round from the exhibitors. Exhibitors applauded the professionalism of the Cairo ICT staff and the assistance available for exhibitors. While 73% of exhibitors reported immediately that they would continue participation in Cairo ICT 2010, nearly 100% of those exhibitors said they were satisfied with their location and planned to remain there in the following year. At the same time, only 3% of exhibitors planned to construct a smaller stand in the future.

Large Attendance by Trade Professionals:

Cairo ICT 2009 serves not just as an exhibition space, but as a way for business leaders to meet and make deals. 65,800 visitors, in addition to VIPs, businesspeople, officials, delegates and media personnel attended Cairo ICT 2009 to take advantage of the unique opportunity of access to so many of their colleagues. The ICT industry was of course well represented, but the oil and gas, banking, retail, tourism, manufacturing, real-estate and other industries also took part in the conference.

• 8000 visitors pre-registered through the Cairo ICT 2009 website, cairoict.com
• 10, 839 were invited by special invitation
• 500 represented media professionals attended
• 10,542 were leading business and government figures who received VIP invitations
• 35,919 were trade professionals who registered at the exhibition

Announcements, Agreements, and Launches @ Cairo ICT 2009:

• Sun Microsystems launched Sun Startup Essentials for the first time in the region during Cairo ICT, offering it at a lower cost to startups
• MCIT had a strong presence at Cairo ICT 09.
• Seagate launched the Free-Agent Theater at Cairo ICT. The device includes a small, portable hard drive and a dock that connects to a television and a remote control
• I-Pocket Solution signed an MOU with EXL Technologies
• SHKE Communication Tech has drawn the attention of a number of companies, topped by El Sewedy Cables.
• ACT launched I Triple play at Cairo ICT 2009.
• Quadra Tech celebrated 10th year anniversary during ICT 09 exhibition, through which it built a reputation as one of the most experienced, knowledgeable and customer focused IT integrators.
• Trinity participated for the first time in Cairo ICT 2009. They opened recently their new branch in Egypt.
• EMS announced new technology for Omnivex digital signage and Extirty IPTV.
• 3M released the Micro professional projectors MPro 110.
• Hiteknofal promoted FTTH that has been one of Hi Teknofal’s leading business concepts.
• HP revealed new lineup for the Queue one 09 for IPG and PSG.
• VirgiTech launches operations as Stratos Certified Key Distributor at Cairo ICT 2009 as well as signs with GraphEast at Cairo ICT 2009 to distribute Adobe products including new Creative Suite CS4.
• NTI signed an exclusive partnership agreement with premium line, Level 1and TFO as well as announces FTTH solution during the event.
• Aastra participated for the first time in Cairo ICT and they unveiled their telephony and Virtual Presence (ViPr™) video conferencing solutions.
• Nokia Forum gave an opportunity to the local mobile applications developers to learn more about Nokia best technology and business platforms.
• Speech workers released their voice mobile translator ( V- Translator) during Cairo ICT 2009
• Apple Pie displayed the new Apple LED Cinema display (24 flat panels).
• Smart Technologies announced the third generation smart board TM 600 i interactive white-board system.
• DCS has revealed for the first time in the Middle East and Africa the new and cutting edge technology VSAT service of Swift X3 TM based on the new I Direct’s Evolution – X3.
• See celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Expo was platinum sponsor.
• Teletech implemented the first commercial WIMAX network in Egypt.
• Gadtech Egypt unveiled a unique programe during ICT 09 named “Active Student” .
• A large number of Real Estate developers participated in the expo.
• Talaat Mostafa Group Sponsored the Future living section
• IT Synergy unveiled a new VoIP solution tailored for medium and large enterprises.
• Egypt Post provided new services for the public and private business societies.
• Bank of Alexandria participated for the second time and sponsored the Financial Lounge
• Prime was one of the sponsors at the Financial Lounge.
• Cisco sponsored the future living section.
• ITIDA had a strong showing in Cairo ICT 09 in order to promote and develop Egypt’s ICT industry with a particular focus on business outsourcing.
• Four Malaysian companies participated at Cairo ICT 09.
• NAT displayed at Cairo ICT 2009 the website”2 Find ME” which offered news and advertising services Via SMS messages
• Business deals that took place during the expo exceeded 800 million EGP.
• The Smart Villages Company sponsored the VIP lounge.
• Telecom Egypt had a sponsored Cairo ICT.
• The Future of the way we build and they way we live was tackled during the opening session.

Cairo ICT Annual Forum: A Resounding Success

The opening session on the “Future Living: Changing the way we build and the way we live.” Kamel said that he is looking to cooperate with the Ministry of Housing as well as private companies to stimulate ICT in real estate, particularly in urban compounds and communities. With keynote speakers Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of CIT and H.E Eng.Ahmed El Magrabi – Minister of Housing, Utilities, & New Urban Communities.

The opening session attended by more than six hundred VIP's, businesspeople and government officials. Business sessions throughout the four-day conference demonstrated the optimism of industry players for the potential for growth in Egypt, the Middle East and Africa, be it in ICT general, or how it applies to various industries such as finance, trade, oil & gas, agriculture, health Indeed, Cairo ICT 2009 showed a whole new world.

The second day of the Forum, and through till the last, included various topics of interest to best serve all exhibitors and visitors alike. Below is a listing of the forum sessions and those who participated as Chairmen, Moderators, and Keynote speakers. Their participation added value to the session and played a main role in enriching the forum in general, giving maximum benefit to attendees.