Microsoft’s technology ecosystem and the growing popularity of cloud services will create nearly 100,000 jobs in Egypt by the end of 2022, according to new research by the International Data Corporation (IDC).
The IDC’s white paper analyses the impact of information and communications technology (ICT), cloud services, and the Microsoft ecosystem on the Egypt economy between 2017 and 2022, showing that spending on public cloud services in Egypt is expected to rise nearly 3.5 folds, growing from $48.5m in 2017 to $162.6m in 2022.
Accordingly, 69,570 new jobs will be created, as well as the 30,540 additional jobs to be created by Microsoft technology ecosystem, bringing the total to 100,110 in net job creation.
“Technological advancement is not a new term for Egypt. The country’s vision 2030 sets a roadmap that will shape the future and in corporate economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development,” said Khaled Abdel Kader, general manager, Microsoft Egypt.
The IDC study highlights that government-led plans such as the Egyptian government cloud (EG-Cloud) strategy, along with private sector investments, will generate $2.36bn in net new revenues from the cloud over the next half decade.
The IDC estimates IT spending in Egypt will reach $1.17bn in 2022, and direct IT employment will have created 417,135 jobs.
The study also reveals that the Microsoft ecosystem – the companies that sell, service, deploy, or otherwise work with Microsoft products – supported more than 202,250 workers in 2017, while creating downstream revenues, accounting for $9.37 for every $1 that Microsoft generates.
“Egypt has outlined several policies, programmes, and initiatives to accelerate its wider development plans. Cloud will further enable these innovative projects that revolve around artificial intelligence (AI), enterprise mobility, internet of things (IoT), and blockchain to create demand for new skill types and expertise in the market. We will begin to see a shift in the job types that will be needed by organisations, with new roles coming in to play. These will range from AI and blockchain architects and data scientists to AI systems trainers,” said Manish Ranjan, programme manager – Software & Cloud, IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
‘Tawar w 3’ayar’, an initiative by Microsoft Egypt, aims to bridge the skill gap in the labour market by empowering Egyptian youth for Fourth Industrial Revolution jobs through digital competencies and building digital science capabilities.
To date, Tawar w 3’ayar’ has provided employment opportunities to over 1.4 million youth by developing 500 centres in 27 different governorates.
“Our mass readiness programme is poised for IT professionals, developers and data professionals to learn cloud technologies, best practices, and advance their careers. Our Middle East data centres are expected to go live this year, and will also play a pivotal role in this effort of continuing to equip people with new skills to stay competitive, while creating new jobs,” added Abdel Kader.