Egypt to spend over $2bn to enhance internet efficiency, says minister
Updated 19 October 2021
Arab News
RIYADH: Egypt has started work on the third phase of its plan to enhance the efficiency of internet services in the country with up to $2 billion investment, Amr Talaat, minister of communications and IT, told Asharq.
The project includes delivery of fiber optic cables to around 4,500 villages in the next three years, he said. Talaat said once completed the project will benefit 58 million Egyptians with high-speed internet services.
As part of the country’s “Decent Life” initiative, the minister said, more than 1,500 mobile stations have been built in different villages during 2021 and in the coming year the number of communication towers will be doubled in different parts of the country.
Last year, new frequency spectrums were allocated with investments of $1.17 billion, which will soon become operational, Talaat said.
The Egyptian minister told Asharq that Egypt was working on building a technology city in its new administrative capital. The first phase will be constructed with investments amounting to 3.5 billion Egyptian pounds, while the second phase will see even more investment, he added.
Talaat said as part of “Digital Egypt” initiative, several projects will be launched in 2022 to ensure smooth digital transformation of the country. He said the government seeks to enhance the contribution of the ICT sector to the gross domestic product to reach 8 percent by 2024.
Citing a recent industry report, he said in the coming days Egypt will present 25 percent of the total growth opportunities in the Middle East.
The minister also highlighted the country’s postal authority’s development plan. “Before the end of the year we will finish developing more than 3,100 offices at a cost of 3.5 billion pounds,” to provide quality services such as digital wallets, electronic payments, financing and micro-lending, to achieve financial inclusion and enhance fintech in Egypt, he said.
Talaat said Egypt is a leading country in terms of the ability to provide outsourcing services. There are more than 85,000 people in Egypt providing these services to more than 100 countries in 20 different languages, he said.
Egypt holds a market share of about 17 percent of the outsourcing sector worldwide, he said.
RLC Global Forum helping retail experts exchange knowledge around new tech, industry leaders say
Updated 6 sec ago
Rashid Hassan
RIYADH: New technologies used to improve customer experience and day-to-day operations are driving Saudi Arabia’s retail transformation, industry leaders have told Arab News during a high-profile gathering in Riyadh.
On the sidelines of the RLC Global Forum, key players in the sector spoke to Arab News about how artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role as tech-savvy consumers look for integration between the virtual and physical worlds.
They also praised the role of the forum in bringing stakeholders together to exchange knowledge and ideas, which is driving forward retail offerings in the Kingdom and beyond.
The two-day RLC Global Forum started on Feb. 3 under the strategic theme “Growth Crossroads,” and brought together more than 2,000 global leaders, policymakers, and innovators from over 40 countries to define the next chapter of growth across retail, consumer, and lifestyle industries.
Speaking to Arab News, Majid Al-Gothmi, acting CEO of shopping centre management company Red Malls, said: “The Saudi retail sector is changing under Vision 2030. The transformation has helped our growth.”
He agreed that digital tools, AI, and new technologies are being used to improve customer experience and day-to-day operations.
“It’s helping us a lot in actually profiling our customers, understanding them, and providing better services to the younger generation,” said Al-Gothmi.
“Gen Z constitutes a major component of the retail market. We can see that 70 percent of the consumers are Gen-Z — they do most of their shopping online, over 60 percent of them,” he added, going on to say that his company’s focus is on “future proofing” shopping malls by integrating technology along with physical space that allows people to mingle comfortably and seamlessly.
Al-Gothmi described the RLC Global Forum as “an excellent platform gathering all the developers, retailers, brands, and most importantly, policymakers.”
He added: “This is a first, I think, where they share their insights, challenges, and exchange solutions, which helps the whole industry to move faster.”
Stefania Lazzaroni, CEO of Italian luxury brands association Altagamma Foundation, told Arab News that she expects steady growth for high-end products and experiences in the Kingdom.
She said: “There’s a new trend about hospitality, fine dining, longevity, and health spa beauty. These are the key factors that are growing. And we believe fine dining, hospitality and spa health as well will be a new trend even in this area. Honestly, they have been doing well for a couple of years.”
Stefania Lazzaroni, CEO of Altagamma Foundation. AN
Lazzaroni asserted that digital tools, AI and new technologies are being used to improve customer experience, as “the luxury client is very specific about what they want.”
She added: “Artificial intelligence is really perfect for us. We have a lot of counterfeiting all around the world, so technology can really support luxury brands in protecting their brands.
“So we are very pro artificial intelligence, which is changing the game and giving more strength and potential for luxury brands.”
The CEO explained that AI is also useful for talking to Gen Z, “which will be the clients of the future.”
She added: “So today with social media, TikTok, and so forth, there is an explosion of beauty, Gen Z is very much active on this.”
Abdel-Salam Bdeir, CEO at the Saudi Co. for Hardware, agreed that the retail sector is changing under Vision 2030 transformation.
He told Arab News: “We are building new technologies for AI to be used and demand planning and inventory optimization, marketing, and pricing optimization, margin, maximization.
“Even in security cameras, communication with customers, shopping behavior targeting certain sectors of customers, we are building all that as we speak.”
Bdeir believes technological progress brings both opportunities and challenges, among them the risk of fewer jobs.
He said: “With major international platforms entering the market, not only the jobs, but money goes to other markets. That’s why the United States, UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany put strict regulations on international platforms first to meet safety standards for the consumer and environmental standards, and second to secure jobs for locals.
“They also put higher tariffs, customs duties, on developing markets like India, Egypt, Turkiye, Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.”
Bdeir added: “So what is in my opinion, necessary is for the regulators to do what European countries and developing markets did to protect jobs, consumers and the economy.”
