CAIRO: Cisco is making a move in Egypt. Late last week, the company announced that it was investing $10 million in venture capital investments that would be aimed at growing high-potential small business in the country. The announcement was cheered by analysts, who said it was the beginning of what many analysts believe to be the first of many major investors entering the Egyptian market. “This is definitely just the beginning,” began Tarek Badry, a Stock Market analyst and technology watcher. “This shows other companies that Egypt is ready to take on the next step in our technology development and investment. Should be interesting to watch from now.” In comments published by Egypt's al-Ahram newspaper, Cisco Egypt President Olaf Krahmer said that “job creation and the chance for greater opportunities are of clear importance to Egyptian citizens. Through this investment, Cisco is demonstrating its commitment to assisting the people of Egypt to begin to invest in meeting these needs,” he said. Egypt's unemployment rate officially hovers at around 10 percent, although many independent studies have shown this number to at least twice as high. ”Cisco also intends to engage in a multi-stakeholder collaboration to encourage further inward investment into the Egyptian economy from local, regional and global organizations,” added Krahmer. The country's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Maguid Osman was quick to point to the progress the government has made in creating IT investments in Egypt. “The government's aim is for Egypt to become an IT hub, providing IT-assisted teleservices to foreign companies,” he began in a published statement by the ministry. “This $10 million investment will help us promote economic development, leading to enhanced opportunities for the people of Egypt.” BM
