Linking Businesses with IT Through Public-Private Partnership Models

1. Linking Businesses with IT Through Public-Private Partnership Models Sherif Kamel Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED) First Meeting of the Working Group on Economic Issues 3-4 July 2006 Thailand

2. Global Trends • Global and timely competition • Consumer satisfaction and customer service orientation • Information-based societies • From physical to intellectual capital • Massive investments in human resources • Convergence and Information intensive products and services • Moving from the marketplace to the marketspace

3. Institutional Roles in IT Diffusion • Government • National strategy and institutional development • Building the national ICT infrastructure • Community awareness and development • Private sector • Civil society • Media

4. Case of EgyptVision • Partnership between the government, the private sector and the civil society as a base for socioeconomic development • Introducing the Information and Decision Support Program (1985) • Building the National Information Infrastructure (1994) • Establishing the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (1999) • Egypt Information Society Initiative (2001) www.mcit.gov.eg

5. Egypt Information Society Initiative (EISI) • To increase accessibility and connectivity as well as empower citizens to share equally and benefit from the opportunities enabled by different information and communication technology (business environment and investment opportunities) • Role of information and communication technology in development (ICT4D) • Public – Private sector partnership (PPP) in which the government articulates policy and regulatory frameworks for the private sector and civil society to implement for the benefit of citizens and as a base for socioeconomic development • Competition is the governing principle of socioeconomic reform and development (deregulation of ICT) www.mcit.gov.eg

6. EISI Components Egyptian Information Society Initiative ICT Industry Development eKnowledge eLearning eHeritage eContent eBusiness eSociety Civil Society eHealth eGovernment eReadiness www.mcit.gov.eg

7. eReadiness Initiatives • A Public–Private Partnership (PPP) in which the government articulates policy and regulatory frameworks for the private sector and civil society to implement for the benefit of the citizen

8. Building Blocks • Human capital - Preparing a young and competitive generation through investing in… • Education (schools) • Basic skills development (centers for eLearning) • Professional capacities • Infrastructure • Investing in building state-of-the-art ICT • Amending existing laws v creating new laws (investment, IPR) • Creating an organization for regulatory, licensing, and supervisory roles (ITIDA) • Establishing the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) • Liberalization of the telecom sector with variations between different services (fixed lines, GSM, ISP) • National legal and regulatory status on IPRs • Infostructure • Completing the build-up of the national information infrastructure

9. ICT Growth • Growing ICT investments • Increase in the number of ICT companies from 312 (1999) to 1773 (2006) • Current number of employees of ICT companies exceeds 35,000 (more in indirect services across different sectors) UN Regional Profile on the Information Society 2005

10. Initiatives Launched • eReadiness • Subscription-Free Internet Services • PC for Every Home • IT Clubs • Broadband Diffusion • Investing in Human Capital • Basic and Professional Training Programs • Nile University (in cooperation with IT companies and universities) • Incubators for startup companies Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

11. Subscription-Free Internet Services • Launched in 2002 by MCIT in collaboration with Telecom Egypt and 210 Internet Service Providers • Providing free nationwide access to the Internet on all fixed lines (users do not pay a monthly subscription fee and only pay the regular local telephone rates) Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

12. PC for Every Home • Using phone line as collateral • Payment on a monthly basis (no advance payment) • Locally manufactured or assembled PCs • Enabling the Egyptian family to obtain a PC • PCs manufactured or assembled locally • 150,000+ PCs were sold since 2002 • Participants • 24 Egyptian companies • Telecom Egypt • National Bank of Egypt – Bank Misr Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

13. IT Clubs • Availing technology to low income areas • 1330 clubs located in 26 governorates and Luxor city • Youth centers • Cultural centers • Non governmental organizations • Schools and Colleges • Club activities include • Training courses • Self training • Using Internet applications Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

14. Broadband Diffusion • Launched in 2004 • Reducing price by more than 70% per month • Service provided by 9 private sector companies in cooperation with Telecom Egypt Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

15. Fixed and Mobile Lines Evolution • Steady increase in fixed lines and boom in mobile telephony • Telephone capacity increased by 6.5 million new lines since October 1999 • The number of mobile subscribers increased by 21 folds Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

16. eReadinessIndicators Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

17. ICT Industry Development • Establishing a centre of excellence in Software Engineering cooperation with international companies to provide technical support and help in acquiring international certificates (IBM, Intel, IBM, Oracle, HP and Cisco) • Promoting ICT exports • Financing and incubating start-up companies (ICT graduates) through a high-tech development fund • Establishing the Smart Village • High-tech business park with smart infrastructure on 300 acres • Capacity of 54 companies (25,000 – 30,000 job openings) • Investment incentives like tax exemptions are provided

18. eHeritage • Establishing a center to documenting cultural and natural heritage in cooperation with Bibliotheca Alexandrina • Promoting Egyptian civilization locally and internationally through electronic publishing www.cultnet.org

19. Investing in Human Capital (eKnowledge)1. Illiteracy Eradication Project • Providing lessons for illiteracy eradication using the Internet and multimedia tools • Training facilitators to use technology in illiteracy eradication Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

20. 2. Mobile ICT Units Project • Introducing ICT to communities in remote under-serviced areas • Increasing the awareness of the different uses of ICT Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

21. 3. Community Development Portal Project • Assisting citizens (in rural and urban areas) to avail a knowledge repository that covers • Job opportunities • Information on • Health • Agriculture • Local issues Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

22. 4. eLibrary and Knowledge Creation • Provide a wealth of locally relevant knowledge • Encourage citizens to gather, develop and share knowledge • Improve research abilities of students and teachers alike • Utilizing ICT to document and exchange local experiences • Encourage active participation from communities Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Quarterly Report 2006

23. 4. eLibrary and Knowledge Creation • Competitions/Free Articles • Target groups are students and teachers • Suitable topics have been selected by experts from various partners • Collect and document socioeconomic developmental ideas from different sectors of the community

24. 5. Smart Schools Network Project • A pilot project for preparatory schools implemented in 13 governorates connecting schools to the Internet • Connecting over 12,000 schools to the Internet

25. Collaborative OpportunitiesPartnership Models • Investing in human resources (formulating professional development programs to exchange expertise and capacities) • Promoting incubators start-ups (supporting remote and rural areas) • Investing in high-tech industries (collaborative research projects) • Building an online business environment (eLearning applications) • Using ICT in cultural and heritage preservation • Contact Centers (call centers) • Business process outsourcing