Entrepreneurship is one of the core elements that drive dynamic economies. Innovation, empowered by active capital and a flexible regulatory environment, can lead to corporate growth, exports, private sector activities and more employment opportunities, which are very much needed in Egypt. As stated in an article published by Oxford Business Group, “small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) comprise a large portion of Egypt’s economic activity, contributing roughly 65-75% to employment and 80% to GDP by some estimates.”
Although there is a good supply of start-up businesses in Egypt, establishing a new business and growing it to its full potential can be challenging in the current environment, especially that the overpopulation problem in Egypt has been affecting the expansion of new businesses in the main cities, like Cairo, the capital, and Alexandria, the second biggest city.
As the government developed the New Administrative Capital, many local and foreign businesses started investing and moving away from the main cities. The expansions taking place all over Egypt started to encourage entrepreneurs and investors to look for and explore new areas of Egypt where they can build successful businesses; like Intouch.com.
Three years ago, Dr. Sameh Abdalla, the CTO of Intouch.com and former lecturer in the Computer Science and AI Department of University College Dublin and Tim Arits, CEO of Intouch.com and former member of Google products’ team established an Irish company called Intouch.com that has its engineering premises in El Gouna, Red Sea.
Intouch.com is building the world’s smartest in-store media network; headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with representation in Toronto, Canada; Ohio, USA; and El Gouna, Egypt, with solutions built specifically for physical retail using a data-driven mindset associated with online e-commerce giants. Its main focus is using AI to understand the store, customers, and products. Intouch.com helps retailers and CPG brands display the right product to the right customer, in real-time.
Intouch.com made us realise that El Gouna could be the new entrepreneurial hub of Egypt. Known as one of the most beautiful vacation destinations in Egypt, El Gouna has been growing tremendously since 1995, when it had been equipped with the necessities for full-time living, incorporating a post office, police station, hospital, schools, and universities. Thus, the facilities offered encouraged start-ups to consider the possibility of establishing their businesses there instead.
El Gouna’s diligently maintained infrastructure and focus on recycling and eco-friendly practices comply with Intouch.com’s culture and values. The constant additions and developments of infrastructure are aimed to attract a very specific type of a full-time resident: the innovator. The city’s vision, aside from environmental protection, is to encourage new concepts and creativity; and this is why it was the perfect home for the Intouch.com family that includes different nationalities, different cultures, different age groups, beliefs, values, and interests all in one place— which is very similar to El Gouna’s culture and lifestyle, welcoming and encouraging diversity.
The quality of the space and the environment that you are in while you think, while you dream, while you create the vision, mission and values of your company is very important. El Gouna offers a lot of flexibility and a great environment to build and welcome good companies. Intouch.com’s team believed in this concept; building a company with a new mindset and creating a culture that elevates productivity and boosts the motivation and the power of the whole team.This dream team left their families, houses, and old lives and relocated to pursue a vision they believe in. They are on a mission to harness the power of data by instantly and intelligently delivering highly engaging and profitable in-store experiences, mixing the power and knowledge of Ireland’s and Egypt’s teams to get global recognition and achieve remarkable success.
We are very pleased to see young entrepreneurs thinking outside of the box and establishing valuable businesses like Intouch.com in new substantial areas like El Gouna.
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