Epicor signs MoU with Egyptian Government, paves way for expansion on MENA operations

These include initial plans for Epicor to open its first development centre in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The MOU was signed at a special ceremony during the region's premier ICT expo, GITEX Technology Week 2007, between Eng. Mohamed Omran, CEO of ITIDA and Ms. Lynne Davidson, vice president of Strategic Services for Epicor in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Tarek Kamel, Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

"We are pleased with the addition of Epicor to the group of premier international companies that have selected Egypt as an IT business centre to provide services to the Middle East, Africa and Europe region," said His Excellency, Dr. Tarek Kamel, Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology. "Our goal to become a major hub of IT for the Middle East and Africa is quickly becoming a reality as today we are considered as one of the leading countries in attracting foreign investment in the region."

The MOU with ITIDA, which functions as both a regulator and developer under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), provides that Epicor and the ITDA shall now jointly proceed with detailing the specific parameters under which Epicor will initiate new and expanding operations in Egypt, with services in software engineering, customer support, software consulting, testing, business process outsourcing and other related activities as well as leveraging the local IT talent pool in cooperation with local universities.

Epicor has forged similar relationships in the Latin America region, where in cooperation with a University in Monterrey, Mexico, Epicor opened a centre that provides University graduates the opportunity to work for the software vendor—the relationship is proving extremely beneficial to Epicor, the young professionals, and the local IT industry as a whole.

According to the ITIDA's CEO, Eng. Mohamed Omran, "Epicor's presence will augment Egypt's already considerable IT skills and will help promote the exportation of IT services from Egypt. The Epicor development centre could potentially create up to 300 direct job opportunities in the future and when complete could cover up to 2,000 square metres of office space in the Smart Village on the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, and be approximately 75 percent focused on exports."

Epicor views this MOU as a prudent and logical first step in its MENA region expansion, according to Ms. Lynne Davidson, "The ITIDA and MCIT have been extremely supportive of Epicor's desire to increase its presence in Egypt, where we have operated primarily through channel partners. Encouraged by the trust and support the authorities of Egypt have expressed and provided to us, and based on the considerable pool of IT talent in the country, we believe there is tremendous potential for growth with the establishment of a direct presence and development centre."

Mr. Basil Daniells, sales director for Epicor in the MENA region commented, "We have a significant customer base in Egypt and the establishment of a development centre will boost our ability to cater to customers in the country. We are grateful to Nordix, our channel partner in Egypt and its chairman, Mr. Khaled Ibrahim, for all the support and efforts in facilitating this exciting initiative."

Recognized as one of the Fortune's 100 fastest growing companies in 2006, Epicor has had a presence in the MENA region for over ten years, initially as Scala Business Solutions, which Epicor acquired in 2004. The Company currently has over 360 installations in the MENA region, with clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) including Aptec Gulf, Hyatt International, International Cricket Council (ICC), Johnson Controls International, Kone Middle East, and Radisson SAS, to name a few.