CAIRO: As Google is constantly acclaimed for its innovation and ingenuity, it launched a new office in Egypt - almost 18 months after building its Arabization base - paving the way for deeper investments in the entire region. "Over the last 12-18 months, Google wanted to be more local in several markets, especially the Arabic-speaking markets, with 300 million people speaking the same language, said Nikesh Arora, president of Google in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Committed towards making the Internet more accessible to different users around the globe, Google launched its Arabic services featuring Google's search engine, Google News, Gmail, and Google Earth. In essence, Google's interest in the region proves that technology is maturing and that Arabic can generate revenue on both a regional and global scale. "Emerging markets is that part of the world where you have a huge opportunity that still isn't fully materialized, unlike developed markets. In Egypt, for example, only around seven million people surf the Internet out of 75 million, which means there is room for more growth, explained Mohammad Gawdat, managing director for Google in Emerging Europe, Africa and the Middle East. But why select Egypt as Google's regional hub? "Technology is taking off in Egypt, and the curve is moving upwards. Egypt is implementing solid improvements in its infrastructure. You've gone from 20 megabits to 11 gigabits; from 6,000 to over six million Internet users, stated Arora. Egypt is also a money-spinning market for Google. "We are a business of consumers, and we want to enter markets with the biggest consumer base. Egypt is a large marketplace. So, our decision [to be in Egypt] is based on being closest to consumers, Arora clarified. "Our business is based on advertising to users. And by entering new markets, we see more potential in working with advertising partners, who can now expand their reach to not only global users but local ones as well. Google's financial results for this year's first quarter place total revenues at $3.66 billion, indicating a 63 percent increase compared to the same quarter of 2006. Google-owned sites generated revenues of $2.28 billion, while partner sites generated $1.35 billion. As Google reports growth in Egypt's IT market and Internet usage, still higher computer illiteracy and poverty rates continue to afflict the sector. The nation managed to rank as low as 58 out of 69 countries listed in the 2007 edition of the Economist Intelligence Unit's e-readiness rankings, surpassed by countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, Mexico, Malaysia, Jordan, and South Africa. In a bid to tackle such impediments, Google partnered in December with Egypt's education authorities to provide 11 million students across the country with free-of-charge access to Google s set of hosted communications services, Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Talk. "Such partnerships ensure that our applications will actually be used by the local community, said Arora. As for computer affordability, Arora believed it was no longer an issue in Egypt after the PC-for-every-home initiative currently being implemented by the government.
