Under the patronage of Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Ericsson launched Together Apart Hackathon to boost innovation and digital transformation in line with Egypt Vision 2030.
Held between November 11-13, the Hackathon competition brought together qualified participants and teams contributing with solutions inspired by Egypt Vision 2030.
In its interest to highlight the major events that serve the state orientation towards the digital transformation, The Egyptian Gazette held an exclusive interview with Eva Andrén, Vice President and Head of Managed Services at Ericsson Middle East and Africa & Country Manager of Ericsson Egypt, to spotlight the major benefits. Following is the detailed interview:
- What is the importance of the Together Apart Hackathon? What are the benefits for youth and innovation in Egypt?
At the outset, I would like to express our pleasure to work with ITIDA, the executive arm of information technology for the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, to launch the activities of the Together Remotely Hackathon and forum to support innovation in Egypt. As suggested by the name, its main goal is to support innovation among young people in Egypt. Through these events, we aspire to develop local talents and instil in them a creative mindset capable of formulating and forming solutions to any problems facing the country. In light of the hackathon’s consistency with Egypt’s Vision 2030, we aim to accelerate the development of modern technology and modern solutions in Egypt and enhance its capabilities to improve the lives of citizens. We are also confident that the results of the hackathon forum will help Egypt achieve the goals of sustainable development and balanced regional development in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030 and contribute to the economic and social development of the state.
- What are the most important areas raised by the event and their impact on different areas of life?
The Hackathon forum contributes to improving the quality of life and standard of living. It also contributes to economic and sustainable growth by working with entrepreneurs, professionals, academics and university students in Egypt in order to identify and come up with innovative and viable solutions. The ideas presented revolve around five areas, namely, quality of life in healthcare and well-being; quality of life in terms of a first-class educational system; integrated and sustainable environment; mobility for all; and the diversified and competitive economy.
- What are the economic returns of hackathon?
The Hackathon in all focuses on achieving economic growth based on knowledge and innovation, as it revolves around digital transformation, increasing the pace of employment, enhancing entrepreneurship, flexibility and competitiveness, as well as achieving financial inclusion in Egypt.
Egypt gives great priority to digital transformation by setting ambitious goals to achieve the goals of this vision. The country has developed the ICT Strategy 2030 and the Digital Egypt Initiative to develop the infrastructure of the ICT sector, enhance digital inclusion and encourage creativity in order to contribute to Egypt’s transformation into a knowledge-based economy.
The hackathon explores the opportunities offered by the digital economy in areas such as e-commerce and virtual experiences to ensure digital inclusion, as it is expected that about 70 per cent of the Egyptian economy over the next decade will come through digital business models.
With the objectives of Egypt’s Vision 2030 focused on securing the rights of future generations in a more efficient and safer future, we will be able to provide sustainable, comprehensive and scalable opportunities in the field of mobility and other areas that will help in facing environmental and climate challenges.
- What are Ericsson’s most important projects aimed at supporting innovation in Egypt?
Since our launch in Egypt, we have focused on creativity and innovation, developing telecommunications and revolutionising the field of communications for more than 125 years. The Hackathon is part of Ericsson’s projects that aim to enhance and develop local talent in Egypt while promoting creativity and innovation. Ericsson’s Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Centre in Egypt also confirms Ericsson’s commitment to the local Egyptian market and works to develop local talent in the fields of advanced artificial intelligence and software technology, by employing data scientists, engineers, artificial intelligence/machine learning (ML) engineers and software developers.
The establishment of such a centre in Egypt demonstrates its pioneering position and unique capabilities as a regional leader in ICT services in the region.
The Ericsson centre is benefiting from the local talent and experts in Egypt to serve the transformation plans of telecom companies.
Ericsson also consistently works on initiatives including empowering women in technology areas such as data encryption and artificial intelligence and has made efforts to cultivate local talent in the country. Today, local Egyptian talent makes up 99 per cent of Ericsson’s workforce in Egypt.
