Egypt, represented by the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), has kick started its participation at the 38th GITEX Technology Week 2018, scheduled to take place from 14 to 18 October 2018 at the Dubai World Trade Centre in UAE. The event will explore the latest trends, showcasing products and innovations from across the world. GITEX aims to bring together the most innovative, exciting, and ambitious tech giants and start-ups to exhibit products, innovative solutions, and ideas to an audience of thousands of visitors and hand-picked international investors. ITIDA will also support the participation of 32 ICT local companies in two different pavilions around the GITEX venue aiming to create new partnerships opportunities, boost investments, expand their presence in the Gulf market, and promote Egypt's potential. ITIDA has an ambition of building and championing a world-class IT industry that will play an increasingly important role in Egypt's economic growth, as well as increasing the volume of its digital and IT services' exports to $4bn by the end of this fiscal year, with a growth rate of 13.4%, compared with $3.25bn in 2017. The Egyptian government capitalises on the vibrant ICT sector and aspires to increase its contribution to the country's GDP from 3.1% to 5% within three years, particularly with the nationwide plan that drives all state sectors and ministries to digitalise. According to ITIDA's Export IT 2017programme, a state fund and cash rebate on ICT exports, the UAE comes on top of the Gulf countries in terms of importing and buying services of the Egyptian ICT companies, with 56%, followed by Saudi Arabia with 22%. Maha Rasha, ITIDA acting CEO, said that the decision-makers in the UAE and the MENA region in general, show confidence in Egypt as a destination of choice for IT outsourcing services and technology innovations. She added that the Egyptian talent is very well recognised for its unique technical capabilities, where it also provides a highly qualified and multi-lingual skilled labour pool of workers at a competitive cost. For the past years, GITEX has been offering a unique opportunity for Egypt and Egyptian companies to showcase their cutting-edge solutions and technologies, in order to penetrate one of the world's fastest growing regions.
