IBM supports the Egyptian Government in Building smarter cities

The agreement aims to upgrade Upper Egypt's national industry through leading edge technology and expertise in order to create high quality competitive domestic market and accessible products through a comprehensive trade scheme.

On the occasion of announcing the results of the agreement, The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) held a press conference that was attended by a delegation from the MTI headed by Mrs. Sahar El Sallab, Assistant to the Minister for Development and Investment in Internal Trade and IBM Corporate and Egyptian team headed by Amr Talaat, IBM Egypt Territory Manager.

Through the agreement, IBM is partnering with the Ministry of Trade and Industry by dedicating a Corporate Service Corps team of 10 members from around the world, with skills in technology, consulting, research, marketing and finance. The team was based at the city of Luxor which is considered a hub for attracting tourists in Egypt.

"One of the current priorities set by the Ministry of Trade and Industry is growing the country's internal trade by attracting investment focused on introducing modern techniques and concepts to internal trade in Egypt in order to ensure that all Egyptian consumers have access to products and services in their own areas of residence while at the same time benefiting from the low prices offered through the increased competition that the development of this sector will bring."

said Ms. Sahar El Sallab, Assistant to the Minister for Development and Investment in Internal Trade.

"As such our partnership with IBM represents an important step toward achieving our strategic goals of economic growth and job creation." Added Mrs.Sallab.

IBM teams kicked off their one month assignment by meeting with Dr. Samir Farag, Governor of Qena who is leading the transformation of the tourist hotspot town to the world's First Open Air Museum.

During their assignment, IBM corporate team worked with Luxor's local organizations such as Suzanne Mubarak Women's Centre, Nubian Cultural Village Centre in the Creative Industry, and various small farmers and associations in the agriculture industry.

The IBM team worked on assessing and identifying areas of growth of Luxor's core operational systems (people, business, transportation, communication, markets) which are then analyzed to benchmark the city's overall capabilities to better understand the trading trends, challenges, and offer recommendations for growing internal trade in the city.

Among others, the recommendations propose repeatable governance models, supply and value chain improvements that will integrate local and largely informal agriculture and handicrafts sectors into the mainstream domestic economy and export markets.

IBM key considerations included the Ministry's goals to create 1 million jobs and attract EGP25bn investments in the next three years to grow internal trade.

Also, the Luxor Supreme Council's Master Plan 2030, which has driven infrastructural development to make Luxor the World's First Open Air, leveraging its thriving tourism industry.

"IBM has a proud legacy of collaborating and partnering with the Egyptian government in its 55-year history in Egypt. said Amr Ghoneim, Country General Manager, IBM Egypt.

"In the same vein, we are pleased to partner with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Luxor Governorate to build our country's domestic and export markets, which support economic growth," Added Ghoneim.