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Cost
Egypt has a structurally low cost of operations.
- The cost of talent in the IT sector in Egypt is competitive to all locations, including Asian low-cost locations such as India and the Philippines.
- IT programmer costs are 20-50% less than other emerging locations in North Africa and Central/Eastern Europe.
Source: Watson Wyatt.
One of the main benefits is its low average wage costs (2,076 USD per annum) when compared with Eastern European countries; only India (1,416 USD) and the Philippines (1,776 USD) have lower average wages (source: EIU 2007). For IT programmers, very cost-competitive salaries are rewarded, for example, Egyptians received an average of 9,126 USD in 2006, while 20,966 USD was the service norm in Morocco (A. T. Kearney 2007 Global Service Location Attractiveness).
The costs of doing business in Egypt are significantly lower than in Eastern Europe and even lower than other emerging markets. This is partly owing to the fact that the Egyptian Pound (EGP) is relatively stable against the US Dollar, preserving cost competitiveness and encouraging foreign investment. Inexpensive office rentals compared with other countries allow an Egyptian based outsourcing company offering technology services to rent spaces at 180 USD per square meter, while India would charge about 220 USD, with Philippines at 184 USD and Bulgaria at 239 USD (CB Richard Ellis). In addition, globally low telecom costs with ready access to VoIP at decreased global internet rates contribute to foreign investors’ return on investments.
Egypt is already home to several contact centers for multinational companies, including Microsoft, Teleperformance, Google, Vodafone, Xceed, ECCO and E Group. Call centers in Egypt rely on the country’s well educated and ambitious workforce - where the local, neutral accent is particularly attractive to global organizations - and there is a high ceiling for trainees to expand within a burgeoning technology consulting and outsourcing sector.
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