Visit to Dubai Knowledge Village (May 29)

After our visit to Booz Allen at Internet city, we visited Dubai Knowledge Village.  This village is a campus for many universities from different parts of the world.  It was interesting to see all the universities in one single campus.  There were well known universities from USA and India.    We were hosted by Szabist Institute of Science and Technology.  This was founded by late Benazir Bhutto.  This university has campuses in Pakistan.  The goal of this university is to give and encourage higher education to Pakistani students. 

We met with Director of the university, faculty and MBA students.  We participated in activities related to leadership and team building exercises.  In the break we had nice pizza snack and coffee.  We exchanged our views on our curriculums and Entrepreneurship.  There was a Q&A session and exchanged our views.  We had a good time meeting with MBA students studying in Dubai.

 

Impressive meeting with Dubai Entrepreneur (May 27) – Founder and CEO of Info2Cell.com

I sincerely thank Mr. Bashar Dahabra for meeting us at his office in Dubai internet city.  We asked him to explain his profile and how he was able to start four successful businesses.  He told us, after completing his Engineering he started working for IBM.  He spent 10 years with IBM.  He saw an opportunity for localization of software for local markets especially Arabic speaking countries.  He started Unitech to provide solutions to the local markets.   He saw another opportunity after Telecom relaxation in Jordon; he started Uniset which is focused on Satellite communication.  While he was doing this he saw another opportunity for internet services.  He started Magnet Corporation to serve this market.    We did ask what his plan is for next five years.  He said he doesn’t have a five year plan.  When he sees the opportunity he simply grabs that opportunity.  He explained about his current organization Info2cell.com.  Mr. Dahabra introduced to the Middle East the concept of the wireless portal service. He has pioneered the development and strategies of value-added mobile services in the MENA region. After seeing the cell phone boom he thought there is a need for Arabic content and information push to the cell phones.  His company is a leading Wireless Application Service Provider in the MENA region with access to over 28 GSM operators and more than 85 million mobile subscribers     He said that it is easy to get the funding for the business in Dubai region as compared to United States.  According to him it’s very easy to start a business in Dubai.  UAE has automated all the commercial services so that services are available online.  When we asked about his challenges, he said finding the right team to execute a Business opportunity/plan is quite challenging in this region.  Since 1998, Mr. Dahabra's vision has grown into a thriving organization headquartered in Dubai with a large portfolio and successful track record. In 2000, Acotel group of Italy, acquired 33% of Info2cell and supported it by investing in the top of the line adaptable wireless platform. In 2003, Info2cell became 100% owned by the Acotel Group.
We asked about the Entrepreneurship in Dubai.   He said Entrepreneur activity is very high in Dubai.  Especially people with special skills or people who knew how to do certain things can bring their expertise to Dubai and really do well in this region.  He gave an example of “Scuba diving school”.  He said he gets bored after establishing the corporation and after achieving certain growth.  He will start thinking about next opportunity in parallel and works on the business and funding plan.  This is how he was able to start successfully four ventures. 

Click here to view the complete interview

Luxor Visit (May 24, 25)

We had a very good trip to Luxor.  I think this is the highlight of our trip to Egypt.  Our guide Hassan explained the history behind the Luxor.  He told us that Luxor represents the glory of the New Kingdom.  Our first visit was to Valley of Kings.  We saw tombs of kings.  It was quite amazing to see the tunnels in the rocky mountains.  It was very hot.  But we were well prepared and started the tour at 6am to avoid afternoon heat.  We saw tombs of King Rameses I, III and IV.  We noticed some workers digging one of the mountains; they are expecting a new finding.  It was nice to see how you dig with basic shuffle tools. 

It was in Thebes, temples of Karnak and Luxor were built over three thousand years ago to honor the great god Amun.  Successive Kings and Queens outdo their predecessors by enlarging the temples and cultural centers.  By doing this they hoped to please the gods, priests and enhance their status.  Clear examples are Karnak and Luxor temples grew magnificently over the years

In the evening we saw temples of Karnak and Luxor.  It is interesting to see the temple designs of Karnak and Luxor resemble to some of the old Hindu temples in India.  A grand entrance leads to an open court beyond which was a columned hypostyle hall.  Cross the hall and move beyond the hall, we will see dimly light chamber that included the holy inner sanctum that was dedicated to the temple god and accessible only to the priests.  And there is a small sacred lake behind the temple.  A typical Hindu temple has the same design and only priests are allowed to enter into the holy inner sanctum.  This raised a question and I asked our guide why it is so similar to a Hindu temple.  Is there any connection between Hindus and ancient Egyptians?  He said Hindu religion is one of oldest and only religion that still follows the old rituals.

On our way back, our guide took us to a papyrus shop, I got one with my name written on it.   We truly enjoyed Luxor trip.   

 

Observations Egypt Vs India(May 21)

As an Indian born, as soon as I landed in Egypt airport, I felt like I was in India.  I kept on observing similarities between India and Egypt.  It started from the airport.  After the flight landed a bus picked us up from the runway to the terminal.  There was a big line for customs and immigration clearance.  But our travel agent managed to get us a special arrangement where we didn’t had to stand in the line.  We had a special custom clearance within 10 minutes.  We picked up our luggage and moved on to board the bus.  As we left the airport, I started noticing the small narrow roads and small cars.  Traffic rules are partially followed here. 

At the hotel, we were assigned our rooms.  Our room had couple of issues.  The room key was not working.  I called the front desk about 7 times for help.  They didn’t come for some reason.    I don’t want to generalize about their work ethics and customer service but I did notice there is a difference between India and Egypt.  Hospitality in India is better than in Egypt.    

Next morning we visited Cairo museum.  When we were driving I started observing many apartments that were partially constructed.  It felt like whole city residential apartments were partially finished.  And then the guide mentioned that there is tax benefit if the status of a building is under construction.  So people never bothered to finish the outside portion of the construction.  They are happy as long as the inside is finished.  To me this is a big difference.  In India, people put extra effort to finish up the outside of buildings nicely.  I have noticed trash pilling on the road sides, which is typical in India as well. 

I made my first call to US to tell my wife we reached safely.  I have spent 10 dollars for one call.  I think this is too expensive.  And our hotel is charging $7 for 1hr internet connection which is very expensive.  In recent years, the Indian telecom industry had undergone a big transformation.  This industry is very competitive so prices dropped drastically.  Nowadays in India, Wireless and VOIP is every where and cheap.

Our guide explained the ancient history of Egypt.  One thing he mentioned was ancient Egyptians use to pray to the Sun, Stars and Animals.    I felt the similarities with Indian culture especially in Hindus, pray to different Gods representing Sun, Water, Air, Earth and Stars.  Each God also has some form of affiliation to some Animal.  We went to a market it just looked like markets in India.  Bargaining is very essential in this market just like in India. 
Traffic and quality of air are bad in Egypt like in India.

IBM Meeting (May 19)

We met with three executives at IBM and they presented their views about IBM Egypt and its focus and growth prospects.    

Amir Talaat - IBM’s territory manager for Egypt presented the overall IT market and its growth in past couple of years.  He presented IBM’s share of the market.  IBM has a development center which was started in 90s with few people.  It has grown up to 700 with CMM level-5 certification which was granted in 2005.   They have seen tremendous growth after the economic and tax reform approved by the government.  The government realized that a large educated population could be an asset for Egypt.  It can turn Egypt into an outsourcing hub and make it an India-II.  According to IBM, the prime minister of Egypt is an ex-IT and Telecommunication minister who is very keen on creating a suitable environment for IT and BPO business development. 

Mona Arishi - IBM’s quality manager who is also responsible for getting CMM level-5 presented the quality process and why it’s important to compete in this market.  As a female executive she shared her thoughts about women role in Egyptian society.    We asked several questions about religion and how religion is playing a role in achieving women to high ranking positions.  Her answer was there are equal opportunities for women to achieve whatever they want and there are no religious restrictions whatsoever.  This was interesting because we had mixed feelings about the equal opportunities for women.  After this interaction we got a pretty good reality check and we are convinced that what we see in the media is not always true. 

Dina Galal - Gala is IBM’s Executive for the Government Sector and is responsible for Gulf States and Pakistan. She explained different government initiatives to grow the IT sector.  She presented the growth sectors.  We talked about the competition.  One of us asked a question about why Indian companies are starting their IT operations in Egypt.  Her response was “Egyptians have a neutral accent”, so it is very good for call centers.  Indian companies wanted to make use of Egyptians and their accent to attract new business.  I agree that Egyptians have a good accent but I don’t agree that it’s the only reason why Indian companies starting their operations.  Indian companies started their operations in China and Russia as well.  As far as I know main criteria for success in BPO and IT sectors are English speaking skilled labor(Engineers, Math professionals, Trained IT professionals) force and low cost.  I think this is the main reason why Indian companies or any multinational companies would like to invest in BPO/IT sector any where in world.

Local Market Experience (May 19)

After the IBM meeting, we went to the market (bazaar).  I have seen markets like these when I was growing up in India.  These may not be the original quality products.  The main thing about this market is bargain… bargain…bargain…  They use many tricks to sell the stuff for higher price.  I started walking in the street.  I went to a shop and asked price for the 3 pyramids set.  He mentioned 25 pounds.  I asked for 5 pounds and I walked away.  He was willing to give it for 20.  I didn’t listen, I just kept on walking.  Now I know I can get the same item for less than 20.  I did the same thing with 2 other shops and ending up buying it for 10 pounds.  We are not use to this kind of bargaining in United States.  We need to be careful in this market.  I have seen some sales guys are very aggressive and abusive with other people, especially foreigners who don’t understand Arabic.  Some times they call you with a loud voice if you don’t listen to them.  It was annoying. It is debatable if they are Entrepreneurs or just a sales people.   They all sell the same products, no creativity and same quality. 

Traditional Dinner Experience & Nile Cruise (May 19)

After the market experience, we met with Dr. Stewart and had a traditional Egyptian dinner.  This is the first time I had authentic Egyptian food.  We had a big menu.  Dr. Stewart Professor from US who has been living in Egypt for last 8 years arranged this dinner and ordered food for us.  She ordered couple of appetizers which included falafel, meat balls, sausage, babaganoush, etc.  For the main course we shared 4 dishes that included Veal chops, stuffed Pigeon and Chicken.  Dessert was some sort of pudding with lots of nuts inside.  The food was good and we were stuffed.  The next day I had an upset stomach with four other study mates.  In spite of the stomach problem we have enjoyed the experience.  After a busy day and the dinner we went for Nile cruise, where we enjoyed the nice relaxing boat ride in the full moon.

Potencial Outsourcing Boom in Egypt(May 6)

Last weekend I talked to my cousin back in India, who is a Software Engineer working for IT outsourcing giant Satyam Computer Services.    Interestingly he told me that he is visiting the Satyam office in Egypt for software development.  This raised few questions in my mind.  Why did Satyam open an office in Egypt?  They have established very well in India so they can very well expand their operations in Indian cities.  What led them to move to Egypt?  I started researching and I have found some interesting trends.    

Global IT outsourcing industry reached $70 billion with a growth of 30% in 2006.  India enjoyed this growth by dominating this industry.  Now India is facing a talent crunch.  This is due to the demand for IT services which exceed the supply of qualified labor force. So the solution is “Outsource” outsourcing.  So Indian IT giants are looking for extended operations where they can find the less expensive labor force and suitable business climate.    Egypt has been ranked the thirteenth most attractive destination to set up an offshore service, according to a study by A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm.  This evaluation was based on three main factors: financial structure, availability of skilled workers and overall business environment.

Government is offering incentives and rewards to attract this industry.  Incentives such as rental, training, furniture and telecom infrastructure are subsidized (85% to 100%).  This attracted Indian IT giants such as Wipro and Satyam to establish their development centers.  Clearly Egypt is becoming a prime destination for IT giants, who are taking advantage of Egypt’s underutilized workforce and government incentives.  Government is encouraging this industry because Egyptians don’t have to worry about foreign companies dominating local markets because competition is not about the local clients rather international clients.   By attracting experienced IT giants, they will bring mature processes and expertise in BPO operations.   This will help in developing the IT market in Egypt which was undeveloped.

Dubai Growth, Is it sustainable?(April 28)

In the last class we talked about the aspects related to Dubai’s culture and business environment.  I came to know many interesting things that I didn’t know before.    Few facts about Dubai are it was also a British colony.  British (East Indian Company) used Dubai ports for their long shuttle between UK and India.  Before oil discovery, Dubai’s main source of income was from Entrepot trade and pearl harvesting.  Dubai became a flourishing hub for trade because of its liberal policies.    After the discovery of oil in 1958, whole landscape of gulf region has changed.  But interestingly Dubai’s oil income is less than 10%.   Its non-oil trade was growing and its economy is boosted by influx of immigrants accounted for 80% of the total population.  Immigrants are attracted because of their liberal tax policies and health care benefits.  Immigrants also known as expatriates will never become a citizen of Dubai (UAE).  Dubai’s passion for economic diversity is partly because of its low oil reserves which some say will be exhausted by 2010.  They are constructing huge infrastructure projects such as large International airport, Palm Islands (largest artificial islands), etc.   These projects will help them achieve their target to be the business, tourism and aviation hub.   I have not heard any major political crises in Dubai.  I should give credit to Dubai’s rulers who gave political stability for all these years.    

As an outsider, every thing they are doing is interesting and exciting as well.  But I do have a question.  Is it sustainable?  I heard about the food crisis this month mostly in the developing nations.  Many gulf countries give huge subsidies on basic commodities including food to counter the inflation.  I still remember Malaysian economic disaster and currency crisis after huge boom.  During boom time they have constructed apartments and office buildings more than what was needed.  I hope Dubai is well aware of underlying economic conditions that lead to Malaysian economic crisis.