Yasser Al-Qadi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and Lino Cattaruzzi, general manager at Google for the Middle East and North Africa region, attended the graduation of more than 1,200 developers specialised in Android applications for mobile phones from the Mobile Application Launchpad training programme. Al-Qadi said that 6,000 students applied for the programme and 1,600 trainees were chosen, of which 1,200 graduated. Some of them started their own companies, and others found job opportunities in a number of major companies in the mobile applications sector. The Ministry of Communications is seeking to establish business incubators in all governorates, instead of its concentration in Cairo—depending on the technological areas that cover all geographical areas and that are equipped to embrace entrepreneurs through creativity centres in every technological zone. The Android application development programme on the platform Udacity is implemented in collaboration with the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center and the Information Technology Institute. The training content includes more than 225,000 hours of training and mentoring, and it held seminars in Cairo, Giza, Assiut, Mansoura, and Alexandria during the past two years. Al-Qadi emphasised that Egypt is taking steady steps to empower young people and the development of technological capabilities in accordance with a specific strategy that concentrates on the development of the entrepreneurial spirit, and to support emerging companies and provide a suitable environment for creativity and innovation. Cattaruzzi commented that Egypt needs more entrepreneurs and developers to take advantage of the transition to the digital economy. "This is just the beginning of what will be achieved by these talented young people, and we look forward to seeing their influence on future generations and the ecosystem in the digital world," Cattaruzzi said. The ratio of the graduated trainees reached 75%, and it's the highest ratio of graduates from the programme globally. In November 2015, Google cooperated with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in the launch of the Mobile Application Launchpad programme with the global e-learning platform Udacity. One of the unique advantages of this programme is that it focuses on three main elements: training, granting of accredited graduation certificates for the intermediate and advanced levels, and guiding students in the professional field.
