3 - Strategic Objectives and Quantitative Targets Fourth: Strengthening the national economy 1- Increasing the ICT sector’s contribution to GDP to 5% 3- Creating an environment conducive to technology innovation and entrepreneurship 5- Strengthening Egypt’s role as a communications hub 8- Enhancing Egypt’s position in ICT in the regional and international arenas This can be achieved through realization of growth rates of 710% for the sector for the next five years, a 20% increase in investment to LE 55 billion, IT service outsourcing exports of $2.5 billion, intellectual property revenues of $1 billion, the growth of Egypt Post as a primary savings facility by an annual average of about 15%, and the development of a strong Egyptian ICT industry that excels in software development and component manufacturing and assembly. Efforts to create an environment conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship include promoting the use of innovative technologies to solve development challenges, attracting more foreign investment in innovation and entrepreneurship, and supporting the establishment of local companies capable of innovation. The strategy, which aims at creating 10,000 job opportunities in the field of innovation, will boost and accelerate development and help position Egypt as a regional innovation center. The strategy aims to strengthen Egypt’s role as a hub for communication cables and transit traffic by building on the country’s various competitive advantages in the field, which include its location at the meeting point of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and a large pool of young, multilingual and technically proficient human resources. MCIT, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims at raising Egypt’s performance in regional and international ICT indicators. Efforts in this regard include strengthening cooperation between Egypt and the international community in the field of ICT, with priority given to cooperation with the Nile Basin countries through a technical support program and joint ventures targeting the establishment of a knowledgebased society in the region. MCIT also seeks to expand efforts in human capacity building with both the Nile Basin and Arab countries through , specialized training programs, to boost Egypt s role in international dialogue on ICT and related issues, and to expand partnerships between Egypt and countries around the world. These efforts will enable Egypt to attract more foreign investment, thereby increasing ICT sector growth and creating employment opportunities for young people. 2- Enhancing Egypt’s position as a leading global outsourcing destination Efforts to enhance Egypt’s position as a global leader in outsourcing aim at increasing annual export revenues from IT service outsourcing to $2.5 billion and intellectual property to $1 billion. Measures to achieve these goals include: establishing a national network of 20 technology parks; diversification of target markets for Egyptian outsourcing exports; promoting greater participation from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in IT service outsourcing; increasing the number of outsourcing professionals, with the aim of creating 75,000 direct job opportunities and 220,000 indirect job opportunities by the end of 2017; attracting more foreign investment through global promotional campaigns; and maintaining a strong Egyptian presence in regional and international fairs, trade missions and efforts to protect intellectual property rights and personal data. 26 27 4- Supporting the digital content industry The strategy seeks to develop Egypt’s digital content industry to promote and preserve Egypt’s culture and heritage, and the wider Arab identity, and to maintain Egypt’s position as a regional leader in this field. The industry will provide important opportunities for the creation of both employment and exports, while enriching Arabic content on the internet. The strategy aims to increase the competitiveness of the Egyptian digital content industry by encouraging the private sector to produce and develop Arabic digital content; promoting development of the skills required by the digital content industry; and supporting universities, research centers, centers of excellence and companies in developing research and tools to enhance digital content, particularly for mobile applications. 6- Raising the competitiveness of Egyptian youth in ICT This will be achieved through various initiatives that aim at providing vocational training for young people and equipping them with the skills required by the ICT sector, especially in the fields of outsourcing and technology innovation. These initiatives include the establishment of Technology Homes as the first stage in the creation of the Technology Corridor of Egypt – a virtual corridor that will extend across all governorates. Such efforts promote the role of young people in development and attract them to the ICT sector. 7- Supporting and developing MSMEs working in ICT Efforts to develop the role of micro, small and medium enterprises in the field of ICT are focused on increasing companies’ competitiveness, opening new markets and opportunities for production, and improving the performance of small and micro enterprises outside of Egypt’s main cities in order to contribute in creating job opportunities and reducing unemployment.