By Hamed mahmoud
The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has witnessed the signing of an agreement of cooperation between the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Webhelp, a global outsourcing services company. The agreement aims to expand the company’s business in Egypt, contributing to the creation of 4,800 new jobs of highly qualified specialists to provide outsourcing services to the company’s customers worldwide.
The three-year agreement is part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) strategy that aims to increase the volume of Egyptian exports of IT products and services through strengthening Egypt’s position on the global map of cross-border outsourcing and IT services, and attracting more foreign investments to this sector, contributing to the creation of intensive jobs for Egyptian youth in this field.
Following the signing of the agreement, details of the cooperation between Webhelp and Microsoft were announced. The cooperation aims to create 200 jobs at Webhelp, expand the activities of the two global companies in Egypt and create many jobs for the benefit of the national economy. The cooperation between the two companies includes providing presale and remote sales services of Microsoft’s digital transformation solutions in the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) sector.
The ICT Minister stated that Egypt is a prominent destination for investment in outsourcing and IT services because of its competitive advantages, most notably the availability of an enabling climate for investment, and skilled people, IT service providers, who speak different languages. He said that ITIDA will carry out an initiative to train young people in different governorates in foreign languages, most notably Deutsch and French, to meet the needs of the growing number of outsourcing companies of talent and competencies. The initiative will first be implemented in Qena Governorate.
MCIT supports Webhelp plans to expand its outsourcing services in Egypt, Talaat said, pointing out that Microsoft is one of the partners of the Egyptian ICT sector. He expressed his happiness with the cooperation between Webhelp and Microsoft, which will help expand the two companies’ businesses in Egypt and create more decent jobs.
For his part, ITIDA CEO Amr Mahfouz said that the agreement is part of ITIDA efforts to attract more foreign direct investments to Egypt through providing the necessary support to international companies specializing in IT. ITIDA carried out a marketing campaign abroad, during the past period, in which it showcased the ICT sector’s excellent performance, outsourcing service providers’ resilience, and the Egyptian companies’ response and prompt adaptation to COVID-19. This helped attract more international companies and grow the volume of existing businesses, which had chosen Egypt over its competitors in this field, Mahfouz added.
Webhelp Group Chief Operating Officer Vincent Bernard said he was pleased to sign the agreement with ITIDA, which helped the company study the Egyptian market, as well as with the strong support that will promote and expand the outsourcing industry in Egypt. Bernard highlighted that the two sides will cooperate to carry out an ambitious business plan for the company to expand its operations to serve customers worldwide from its new branch in Egypt, which was opened in October 2020. Webhelp aims to invest more than EGP 200 million in the Egyptian market over the next three years, he added.
Bernard stated that the cooperation with Microsoft will be part of Webhelp’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiative, to enable a new generation to join a Webhelp fully-funded program in presale services, digital sales and sales channels, through training for international certifications.
Microsoft Egypt Country General Manager Mirna Arif stated that Microsoft is pleased to partner up with Webhelp, in line with the former’s goals and endeavors to create jobs, hone skills and support the national economy, especially amid the current circumstances. She added that her company will keep doing its part to make Egypt a favorable destination for investment in digital services and to qualify employees to serve customers in the best way, drawing on Microsoft’s social responsibility towards Egypt.
Webhelp is one of the world’s leaders in customer service, operating in 48 countries, with 70,000 employees. The company’s branch in Egypt offers telesales, technical support and call center services to Webhelp customers around the world.
The agreement was signed by Mahfouz and Bernard, in the presence of the Assistant ICT Minister for Strategy and Implementation Sherine El-Guindy, Webhelp Egypt CEO Alaa El Khishen, and Webhelp Enterprise Sales Solutions EMEA CEO Etienne Turion.
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