Cairo ICT 2010  kicks off under the auspices of H.E. Minister of Communications & Information Technology Dr. Tarek Kamel.

When Ossama Kamal first thought of holding an international ICT trade fair in Cairo, most people were still wary of information technology in Egypt.
Kamal, who is Managing Director of Trade Fairs International, the organizers of the Cairo ICT, says at that point information technology seemed out of reach for most Egyptians.

“It was thought, 14 years ago, 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago, that ICT was just a luxury that the industry was talking about it and it was not going to be part of our everyday life,” Kamal said.

But that has changed. Over 55 percent of Egyptians now own mobile phones and 95 percent of the country’s population is covered by mobile phone networks—many of these people never had land lines.

Egypt is one of many developing countries that has experienced the leap frog effect of technology, which basically means rather than experiencing the slow evolution that places like Europe went through—from telegraph, to telephone to mobile phone—many, especially in rural Egypt, jumped from no connection to a mobile phone. 

For around 150 L.E. anyone can purchase a simple mobile, and extending mobile networks to rural areas is much cheaper for companies than laying the infrastructure for landlines.

And this leaping will continue. Soon, Egyptians who could not afford a personal computer will be able to purchase much cheaper handset that allows them to get online, bringing the internet to so many new users.

In other parts of Africa, populations that don’t even have electricity are getting laptops that they can wind-up for power—leaping over the processes of getting an electrical connection, cable service and even Wi-Fi.
What will be the next leap?

Destination Egypt

Despite this leap-frog effect, Egypt is not considered on the cutting edge of the ICT industry.
“Egypt is not well-positioned as an IT country,” says Kamal. While Egypt has made big gains and improved its position in the market, it still lags behind other international and regional players.

Part of the problem is that many of the companies that want to move forward and become innovators in the field, have trouble finding employees with the education and training to take on the these roles.

There is now a lot of awareness of this issue though. Organizations –from Gamal Mubarak’s Future Generation Foundation to foreign companies like Microsoft, that are motivated by their inability to find qualified professionals locally—are investing in training. 

Egypt’s showing at other ICT fairs internationally isn’t always strong, but this is another reason to hold the event here.
“I could have done Jeddah ICT,” says Kamal “but this is my base.”

For Kamal, part of his motivation is spurring the industry in Egypt by bringing major players to Cairo and allowing smaller, local players to show off what they are cooking-up, essentially making Egypt a destination for the ICT industry.

This year the conference managed to bring 400 companies from 16 different countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America to Cairo.

Kamal said he’s happy to see both the big players that attended every year among those attending, but also those that didn’t make it last year because of the looming financial crisis.

Other Industries Onboard

One of the biggest changes that the event has seen over the last few years is that the exhibitions are no longer just ICT specific companies.

The penetration of ICT in all industries—from health care to media—is increasing, and many are realizing the importance of technology to their business.
“ICT has become a real enabler for people,” Kamal said.

Some sectors, according to Kamal, have been resistant to incorporating IT into their business. The Real Estate and banking sectors were slow to jump onboard as they didn’t find ways to attract costumers with new technologies in the same many other sectors did.

For Kamal, seeing more representatives from these sectors at Cairo ICT 2010 is one of this year’s biggest accomplishments.

New for 2010: Cairo MET

One of industries that has been most affected by ICT advancement is media. The one-to-many media model, which has always dominated media exchanges, is being challenged by user-generated content, input capabilities and the users’ quest for more control.

“Youtube is now the most popular television station,” points out Kamal. He says there is new focus on media this year because broadcasting and ICT have merged in a way that makes them inseparable. “The most popular publication is Facebook.”

This will be the first year for Cairo Media and Entertainment Trends (MET), which Kamal calls a “natural extension” of Cairo ICT. Very few media companies attended a decade ago, but the increasing convergence of media and information technology has meant more tech companies attending media fairs and more media companies interested in attending events like Cairo ICT.

This necessitated Cairo MET, a separate but associated event from Cairo ICT. The Cairo MET section will include Digital Cinema, 3D TV, Mobile TV and film restorations—just to name a few.

A Chance to Learn, Discuss and Play

This year’s event will also include forums on topics ranging from Green ICT to Media and Technology. Kamal says while some of these forums are standard, he thinks others could spur healthy debate. Subjects like e-waste remain sensitive here where problems with regular waste management remain unsolved.

The financial crisis created a “heavy atmosphere” in 2009, says Kamal. But now there is a new sense of optimism and he says that Cairo MET and the inclusion of gaming companies will lift the mood this year.

Top gaming companies like X-Box will be at this year’s Cairo ICT, giving exhibitors and attendees a chance to play.
“It not going to be just suits and ties,” Kamal said. “There is a different kind of consumers and seminars.”

Also key will be the CXO event. The organizers have pushed to include an event like CXO since 1997. It will bring together top professional from across the Middle East and Africa.

The End of Strictly Business

Originally Cairo ICT was a solely business-to-business event. The goal was to bring producers and innovators in the field together and let companies show others in the industry what they have in store for the coming years.

“But I hate to turn people away,” Kamal said. Ordinary consumers wanted to come to Cairo ICT and while it was business-to-business event, Kamal didn’t want to tell them they couldn’t enter. The solution was to make a shopping area in 1999 called  the  ICT Mall. At first it was limited, but it has grown and many exhibitors say the Mall has become a great outlet for them.

Consumers desiring to purchase cutting-edge technology directly from the producers, fueled growth in the Mall and an increasing number of companies set up booths in that section.

With this, the event is beginning to have more of business-to-consumer aspect that Kamal say for which he didn’t originally plan, but now welcomes. The consumer wants to be more involved, more informed and on the cusp of what going on in the industry.

Cairo ICT’s Evolution Continues

Like companies in the information technology industry, events like Cairo ICT must also evolve to meet the quickly changing needs and demands of the consumers and corporations.

Kamal says he accomplished his major objectives for Cairo ICT ten years ago. Now, it’s a matter of creating an event attractive and useful enough to bring exhibitors, as many companies tighten purse strings. It’s about bringing them here and working to center Egypt in the IT industry. “This year,” says Kamal, “it’s destination Egypt.”