CAIRO: European software company SAP AG has announced the establishment of the Middle East region's first SAP Academy, according to a press statement. The academy will be inaugurated soon by the Egyptian government, in a move aimed at accelerating the country's shift toward a service-based, knowledge economy, with an emphasis on developing an educated, skilled workforce. The SAP Academy will be located in Cairo's Smart Village IT cluster, and it will serve an estimated capacity of 500 students, with a majority of the students expected to be existing government employees. "SAP's experience in public sector solutions is well documented. We expect Egypt's adoption of SAP to greatly enhance our ability to transform the way our government operates, said Minister of Communications and Information TechnologyTarek Kamal. In November of 2007, SAP announced that the Egyptian government had selected SAP as its strategic IT provider for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, and agreed to a comprehensive memorandum of understanding binding the two parties to a multi-million dollar five-year agreement, beginning 2008 with a four-year deal with the Egyptian National Postal Organization (ENPO). Both parties also agreed to establish a partnership for a certified SAP customer support center in Egypt in an effort to boost job creation. Kamel said at the time that the effective deployment of information technology remains essential to the government's national development strategy, and that by joining forces with SAP, the Egyptian government is enhancing competitiveness and economic opportunities. "The SAP Academy in Cairo's Smart Village will play a crucial role in driving Egypt's modernization efforts, and we intend to partner with Egypt every step of the way, said Léo Apotheker, deputy CEO, SAP AG.
