The Software Industry in Egypt as a Potential Contributor to Economic Growth

During the 1960’s computing was introduced to Egypt. Its use and applications was limited to the government and the public sector. During the 1980’s the introduction and diffusion of computing was widespread following the global personal computer evolution. Personal computers effectively affected organizational development and growth due to the continuous developments in the information technology industry and caused by increasing hardware penetration, software innovations, and the build-up of the telecommunications and information infrastructures. This chapter assesses the recent developments in the software industry in Egypt, especially post to the establishment of the ministry of communications and information technology late in the 1990’s as a major building block of the information technology industry and a possible active contributor to economic development at large through a strong, quality and much needed export-oriented software industry that could have concrete implications on the economy.