The announcement marks another key milestone in Cisco’s commitment to contributing to economic development in Egypt. Since opening Cisco offices in Egypt in 1999, it has hired almost 80 employees and focused on building knowledge and skills through a network of close to 300 local partners. In turn, partners have hired thousands of professionals in the ICT infrastructure space who are now global experts as a result of working and partnering with Cisco.
“Working with Algebra Ventures has given us the opportunity to fulfill a commitment we made in 2011 to seed a sustainable model of job-creation and economic development in Egypt. This investment will be targeted at small businesses that provide innovative products, services and solutions. Cisco believes that job creation and an environment that creates opportunities for Egyptian citizens are the key ingredients to sustainable economic development,” explained Ayman Elgohary, Managing Director for Cisco Egypt and Libya.
Cisco has also been working with the government to develop the ICT market in Egypt and to build infrastructure for verticals such as public sector, FSI, oil and gas, manufacturing, and hospitality to name a few. Recently, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology nominated Cisco’s Managing Director in Egypt, Ayman Elgohary, to be a non-executive board member in the Chamber of Information Technology.
Through this role, Elgohary will actively work with the Chairman and the board to help to build the ICT sector in Egypt, especially the development of Small to Medium Enterprises in the sector.
In addition, through the Cisco Networking Academy, Cisco’s flagship IT education programme in corporate social responsibility which was launched in December 1999 in Egypt, Cisco has invested an in-kind contribution of over $21.9 million and successfully educated 73,934 students, of which 35% are female. Currently, there are 89 Cisco Networking Academies in Egypt.
Algebra Ventures is managed by three partners with significant investment and operational experience in Egypt. Prior to Algebra, the partners have collectively invested in successful startups in Egypt, managed over 30 venture capital and angel investments and realised some of the country’s most prominent technology exits, such as Fawry, exited at a $100 million valuation, and SysDSoft, acquired by Intel.
