Yesterday, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister of Egypt, witnessed the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Mashreq Global Network on the sidelines of his participation in the 2024 World Governments Summit in Dubai.
The agreement aims to expand the business services of Mashreq Global Network’s center in Egypt. The ceremony was attended by Dr. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mashreq Global Network (MGN) commits to hiring a minimum of 300 new Egyptian employees over the three-year duration of the agreement. These new hires will be primarily engaged in export activities related to banking business services.
As part of the agreement, MGN will expand its operations in Egypt. This expansion encompasses the provision of offshoring services, including but not limited to Data Analysis Services, Business Intelligence, Internal Audit, Credit Management, and various financial and banking services in areas such as Risk Management, Product Management, and Shariah Governance. The company intends to export these services from Egypt to customers of Mashreq Bank.
Minister Dr. Amr Talaat highlighted that the increased investment by Mashreq Global Network in Egypt underscores the competitiveness of the ICT sector, particularly in the BPO and offshoring services industry. He highlighted Egypt as a premier choice for multinational companies looking to expand their operations and establish captive centers for global delivery services. This preference is attributed to Egypt’s abundant pool of professional, multilingual talent with proven digital capabilities in diverse IT fields.
Talaat also asserted the ministry’s keenness to create a conducive environment for the growth of the BPO industry and to reinforce Egypt’s position as an attractive offshoring destination in light of the many competitive advantages that Egypt enjoys, which qualified it to occupy the third place globally in the Offshore BPO Confidence Index 2023 report.
Mashreq Global Network (MGN), wholly owned by Mashreq Group in the United Arab Emirates, was established with three main offices in Egypt, India, and Pakistan. MGN Egypt serves as one of the operational arms of Mashreq Group, where employees from Egypt operate under the supervision of the corresponding specialized management based in Dubai.
MGN plans to double its workforce in Egypt, which reached 116 employees by the end of 2023, working in various banking sectors including retail, corporate, customer service, legal affairs, internal audit, marketing, corporate communications, and compliance.
As part of MGN’s commitment to promoting diversity and inclusivity, approximately 53% of the workforce in Egypt consisted of female employees as of end of 2023. The group’s utilization of a remote operating model, enables employees with flexibility to tailor their work arrangements according to their circumstances and increase in work life balance.
Mark Edwards, Group Head of Operations at Mashreq, said, “The agreement signed today marks the beginning of a new chapter as we expand our operations in Egypt. Our collaboration with ITIDA reflects our confidence in the exceptional skills and capabilities of the Egyptian talents. We are committed not only to strengthening our presence in Egypt but also to contributing to the growth of the country’s digital exports. This partnership is a testament to the strategic importance of Egypt in our global roadmap. We look forward to achieving a successful collaboration that creates opportunities and opens limitless horizons.”
ITIDA’s CEO Ahmed El Zaher said: “We are thrilled to sign an agreement with Mashreq Global Network to further expand the portfolio of its shared services operations from its center in Egypt. This cooperation comes in line with ITIDA’s Digital Egypt Strategy for the Offshoring Industry (2022-2026) and its strategic goals of increasing offshoring sector exports and creating more jobs for Egypt’s skilled pool of talent.”
ElZaher added that the diversity of foreign investment in the field of global services delivery reflects investors’ confidence in the technical capabilities and digital skills of Egyptian youth.
ElZaher affirmed Egypt’s position as one of the fastest-growing global offshoring destinations, especially as it offers a huge portfolio of services to many markets, including business process, financial and banking services, shared services, IT services, engineering research and development, electronics design services, embedded systems, and automotive software.
Ahmed El Sherif, Head of the Mashreq Global Network in Egypt, said: “We are pleased to sign this agreement with ITIDA to expand our operations in Egypt in line with the national agenda for driving digital transformation and increasing digital exports. Egypt stands out regionally and globally with its exceptional quality and diverse portfolio of services within the information technology sector. Therefore, we trust that this collaboration will contribute to the upskilling of local talents, especially with MGN offering global career exposure in the banking and financial services domain through remote operating model from Egypt.”
The agreement was officially inked by ITIDA’s CEO, Ahmed ElZaher, and Mr. Ahmed El Sherif, Head of Mashreq Global Network in Egypt. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Mr. Mark Edwards, Head of Operations at Mashreq Group.
