Work towards an intra-MENA modern communications network.
Establish a MENA science and technology park association to foster sharing of knowledge and realizing joint projects between country parks.
Rifaat Mohamed Rifaat
Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Egypt
ITIDA’s Objectives
Develop and support ICT industry, and turn it to export-oriented industry;
Enable & regulate e-business through the implementation of e-signature law;
Protect Intellectual Property Rights in the area of original S/W and database applications; encouraging local investments and attracting Foreign Direct Investments;
Position Egypt as the destination of choice for outsourcing ICT services and S/W development business;
Support ICT R&D activities and encourage utilization thereof;
Encourage and develop all entities operating in the ICT field.
Leveraging & utilizing academic research capabilities and resources to support the development of innovative ICT products;
Bridging the gap between academia, actual ICT industry and market needs;
Increasing ICT SMEs capacity and competitiveness.
This Program is managed by a Steering Committee (PSC) composed of ITIDA, ICT private sector, research centers and universities.
1. Private Sector-Research Centers Collaboration
Advanced Research Projects
Provide grants for research projects proposed by academic research centers and/or ICT companies and approved by PSC based on innovation and market need, finance is offered on cost sharing basis (80% by ITIDA and 20% by an interested IT company).
ITIDA Fellowships
Provide grants for a number of innovative subjects selected by PSC from e-business development priorities, winning researchers receive full research funding.
Student Graduation Projects
Provide grants for subjects proposed/selected by ICT companies and approved by PSC based on innovation and market need.
2. Innovative Product Development Grants
Provide grants for developing innovative products proposed by ICT companies and approved by PSC based on innovation, market and society needs.
Program Goals:
Encourage innovation within the ICT community;
Encourage the cooperation between the R&D centers and ICT SMEs;
Develop technical know-how and technology transfer.
First project - “Smart Token for e-business”:
Developing an Egyptian e-signature tool.
3. ICT4SMEs Program
Program Goals:
Build capacity of SMEs to leverage Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in order to generate sustainable growth, increase profitability and create efficient, better-connected and more competitive enterprises through a cost sharing model (SMEs 20% and ITIDA 80%).
Build capacity of implementing ICT service providers to address the SMEs business model and develop innovative solutions through the provision of full grants.
Identify, through NGOs, new socio-economic opportunities that can be leveraged through ICT.
Software Process Improvement (SPI) for SMEs Program:
Implementing the Software Process Implementation Guide (SPIG) developed by SECC on 20 Egyptian software development companies to help them in their Software Process Improvement Track.
CMMI Program: (is available for mature S/W companies)
(CMMI) Capability Maturity Model Integration is a method for evaluating and measuring the maturity of the software development process of S/W organizations.
Providing CMMI® Level II and Level III related services to 20 Egyptian software development companies on cost sharing basis, 80% by ITIDA.
Software Engineering Competence Center Initiatives
3. ITIDA-SECC/IBM-Rational Program:
ITIDA purchased Rational Unified Process (RUP) tools, a S/W development process framework, to help S/W companies to develop software effectively using proven techniques optimizing their effort, cost and schedule. The services are available free to eligible S/W companies;
The agreement includes 3 years of technical support, training, and consultations provided to 80 S/W companies by IBM-Egypt.
