CAIRO: American technology giant IBM Corporation announced plans to expand a program that sends teams to developing countries in order to assist local organizations in business, social or technology projects. Egypt and other regional nations are among those destinations highlighted by IBM for the bolstering of the project. The Armonk-based computer services giant said that the expanded program, known as the Corporate Service Corps, will result in 1,500 employees working in the various countries by 2010, up from around 600 currently working in developing nations. By the end of 2009, IBM says it will deploy 52 global teams of eight to 10 employees to a number of locations, including the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Brazil, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Romania and Turkey. “Participants benefit via a once-in-a-life-time, problem-solving exercise in the developing world, communities gain by obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in pro-expert consulting services, and IBM benefits by growing its next generation of leaders with the skills required to lead in a globally-integrated world,†said Stanley S. Litow, vice president of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs at IBM, in a press release published on Monday. Nigeria, a nation that has been largely off IBM's map is hoping the new project will move the country forward technologically. IBM is adding the West African nation to the program this year and is expected to provide examples of the types of projects that are receiving assistance from IBM. In that country, IBM workers say they will help the government devise an information system for monitoring child and maternal health and help create an information technology platform that will link 18 government departments. Shares of IBM slid 21 cents to $119.69 in afternoon trading. BM
