Dr. Sherif HashemInformation Society Development Office (ISDO), Director

shashem@mcit.gov.eg

Empowering E-Business in Egypt: Facing the Challenges!

Empowering E-Business in Egypt: Facing the Challenges!

The Digital Divide

CIT in Egypt

E-commerce in Egypt

Cyber Laws

The Road Ahead

Outline

The Digital Divide

“The Digital Divide is the socio-economic gap between industrialized & lesser developed communities due to the rapid and efficient deployment of digital technologies”

The Digital Divide

Europe 32%

Asia & Pacific36%Latin America

8%

Canada & USA22%

Africa2%

Europe Asia & Pacific Africa Latin America Canada & USA

Source: ITU (internet host data: Network Wizards, Ripe 2000

Number of Fixed Lines Worldwide by Region

Europe 29%

Asia & Pacific35%

Latin America 5%

Canada & USA30%

Africa1%

Europe Asia & Pacific Africa Latin America Canada & USA

Source: ITU (internet host data: Network Wizards, Ripe 2000

Worldwide Internet Users by Region

Europe 22%

Asia & Pacific24%

Latin America 1%Canada & USA

52%

Africa/ME/EE1%

Europe Asia & Pacific Africa/ME/EE Latin America Canada & USA

Source: Forrester Report 2001

Projection of E-Business Worldwide by 2004

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Europe Asia & Pacific Africa Latin America Canada & USA

% Fixed Lines % Internet Users % E-Business

The Digital Divide

CIT In Egypt

1.2M users (estimated) compared to 544M WW (NUA Survey – Feb`02)

Most access is in the capital & major cities

Internet utilization rate of 1 in 57

compared to a WW rate of 1 in 11

60+ ISPs

Cost: FREE Internet in 15 Governorates, the rest will be covered by the end of 2002

Internet Access in Egypt

Local content

Culture

Language

Human Resources/skills

Awareness/understanding

Local business models

Infrastructure

Access to computers

Access to the Internet

Access to software

Access to technical expertise

Some Key CIT Challenges

CIT Industry Development

Human Resource Development

Communication Infrastructure Development

Information Infrastructure Development

National CIT Plan (Dec 1999)

Community awareness. Education. Development of CIT professionals Infrastructure development. Regulatory framework.

National CIT Plan: Mission and Objectives

A Model For Bridging the Digital Divide

Government subsidized Internet Cafés

Created in youth centers, public libraries, schools and NGOs. Focusing on deprived and low income communities.

Awareness

To date, there are 350 clubs nation wide

AccessAffordability

IT Clubs

96 hours – 6 weeks – hands-on training

More than 60,000 graduates

Internet

Presentation Skills

Language Skills

Word Processing

Data Entry

Spread Sheets

Awareness Access

Affordability

Basic IT Training Program

Certified professional training by major technology providers including:

Cisco, Microsoft, Lucent, Nortel, Qualcomm, Ericsson, IBM and Oracle.

Awareness Access Affordability

More than 8,550 graduates

Professional Development Program

Deregulation Private sector participation.

Alliances.

Investment opportunities.

Diversification of services

Competitive environment

Access Affordability

Expanding the Network

E-government program & projects.

E-commerce and e-payment projects.

Community telecenters project.

Telemedicine projects.

Affordable PCs project.

Incubators project.

Cultural documentation & dissemination projects.

Stimulating the Information Society

Fixed Lines: 9.3M lines up from 6.4M lines, and 7.3M subscribers up from 4.9M subscribers.

Mobile phones: 3.9M subscribers up from 655K subscribers Public pay phones: 42K pay phones up from 13K public pay

phones.

*Current figures are compared with the situation when the national CIT was adopted late 1999

Facing the Challenges: Telephony*

International links: 500 MB/Sec up from 20MB/Sec.

Users: Over 1.2M users up from 300K users.

Access cost: Access is almost Free (in 15 Governorates) compared to US $20/month.

Access Points: Over 350 IT clubs and community telecenters.

*Current figures are compared with the situation when the national CIT was adopted late 1999

Facing the Challenges: Internet Access*

Basic CIT Skills: Over 60K trained.

Professional Training: Over 8500 highly skilled professionals.

National Telecommunication Institute.

Technological University.

*Current figures are compared with the situation when the national CIT was adopted late 1999

Facing the Challenges: Skills Development*

ICT Companies: 722 companies up from 266 companies.

ICT Professionals: Over 25K highly skilled professionals up from 10K professionals.

Smart Villages.

ICT Incubators.

ICT Industry Development Organization.

*Current figures are compared with the situation when the national CIT was adopted late 1999

Facing the Challenges: Industry Development*

E-Commerce in Egypt

Oct’97 ISE-Ecommerce Committee formed

Aug’98 1st meeting of the National E-commerce Committee

Sep’98 1st National Seminar on Ecommerce

Sep’99 Ecommerce initiative declared

Oct’99 Ecommerce in the National CIT Plan

2000-02 Cyber laws (e-signature, e-payment, ..);

Government Pilots; Private Portals

E-commerce in Egypt

Legislation (cyber laws): Electronic Signature & Electronic Contracting Customs & Taxes Jurisdiction Encryption, IPR, privacy, security, consumer protection, domain

names, trade marks, etc. Regulation (Certificate Authorities, etc.) Banking infrastructure (e-payment) E-Insurance (financial, commerce, etc.) E-Education & E-Knowledge

Some Key Issues

Who is responsible for E-commerce?

How can government empower the use of E-commerce?

How can SMEs understand the challenges and opportunities of E-commerce?

How to help create, empower, and support Egyptian E-business models?

Where do we go from here?

Some Key Questions

Cyber Laws in Egypt

National Electronic Signature Committee (entities): Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade

Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ministry of Interior

Ministry for Administrative Development

Central Bank of Egypt

Cabinet Information & Decision Support Center

Drafting an E-Signature Act: The Process

National Electronic Signature Committee (legal and technology experts):

Governmental,

Private sector, and

Academic

Drafting an E-Signature Act: The Process(Cont.)

Amending existing laws vs. creating a “new” law

Recognition of electronic/digital documents and signatures

Creation of a state organization for regulatory, licensing, and supervisory roles

General awareness and training programs

Protecting IPR and privacy

Drafting an E-Signature Act: Key Issues

Recognizing electronic/digital signatures and document

Scope: Commercial, Administrative, Civil Sectors

Technology Independence

Establishing a regulatory body for Certificate Authority (CAs)

Recognizing “foreign” CAs

E-Signature Act: The Main Points

National white paper on:

The Egyptian information society

Four sub-committees:

Electronic contracting

E-payment

Customs and taxes

CyberCrime

The Road Ahead

For More InformationVisit

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology http://www.mcit.gov.eg/

or E-mail:shashem@mcit.Gov.eg

Thank You……