Eng. Hatem Dowidar, CEO of Vodafone Egypt, affirmed that the company aims at investing in 20 emerging companies until 2013, through the company's investment fund "Vodafone Ventures" with a capital of EGP 20 million. He pointed out that the company will launch two project during this month, which will be announced as part of the funding plan for the first year. He also noted that the company is willing to participate in developing small-and-medium-scale companies, which represent one of the main pillars of economic development. The fund will be used in buying a number of small companies and preparing them for offering new services with added value so as to contribute in developing the sector of communications and information technology, he said. He added that the fund will play an important role in supporting innovation,exporting technology, and opening many opportunities for youth. It will also provide a suitable environment for work in order to produce new services and technologies with a tangible added value. He stressed that the fund will provide support to the small companies after buying them with the aim of joining advanced markets and qualifying these companies in order to represent Vodafone in various international markets. Vodafone has set a number of standards for the companies that will be the target of investment. These standards include that such companies must have technologies and innovative services, is compatible with the strategies of Vodafone, have professional staff, able to achieve progress and financial profits, and have services and products that can be expanded into global markets.
