The Smart Village

The Smart Village Egypt’s first Technology Park

Since the early days of civilization, Egypt has played an integral role in the advancement of science and technology. Definitely known for its great monuments, such as its pyramids of Giza, Egypt is welcoming new and modern kinds of monuments, some of which are found in its Smart Village. As the country’s first technology park and e- community, this Village hosts state-of-the-art infrastructure geared towards hi-tech companies. Located just 30 minutes from downtown Cairo, this Village allows Egypt showcases its high tech infrastructure by providing a high tech environment for IT and Telecom companies. I had the opportunity of visiting this new urban community, as it’s often called, to see how Egypt is embracing technology and evolving into an information society. In 1999, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology was formed to ease the transition into the global informational society. This creation contributed to the establishment of the Smart Village in Egypt, which is increasingly considered the centre for IT and Communications both in the Middle East and in Africa. The Village continues to have a positive impact on several aspects of Egyptian society. It not only provides jobs to Egypt’s number one asset, its human resources, but it also acts as the hub for the Smart Schools Network.

This technology hub, connected with high speed, broadband and fiber-optic connections, is a fast growing e-community of more than 18 national and multi-national firms, such as Microsoft, Vodaphone and Alcatel. Although this Village is intended for hi-tech companies, by the end of 2007, Egypt’s first Financial District will be located here. Within its premises, one will find all the governmental regulatory and implementing bodies concerned with the financial services. The Financial District will be home to Egyptian Financial Services Centre, the first of its kind. All these banks, stock brokerage firms and other financial institutions will benefit greatly from the proximity to the regulatory authorities as well as the state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology.

Currently, the Smart Village occupies about 450 acres. I was told that the area will expand to cover 650 acres by the end of 2010, when all the construction will be completed. In the meantime, only 15% of the Smart Village is completed however, by the end of 2006, this figure will reach 40%. I was quite surprised to learn that many of its buildings are spread apart, with a lot of greenery and open space between them. Only 10% of the land is dedicated to office buildings, facilities and services aimed at the high tech business community, while the remaining 90% is dedicated to lakes, fountains, lawns and courtyards. I saw a great similarity between all the buildings at the Village. Clearly, they all follow the same architectural standards set by the Village. In fact, while any firm in the IT sector is welcomed to rent, lease or buy office space, those that buy land have to abide by these architectural standards when building their offices. With its underground parking for employees, the green surface is fully maximized. The Village enjoys central air-conditioning and a back-up power supply, allowing its tenants to enjoy uninterrupted services. Since the Village is still in its developmental phase, there are a number of services that are yet to be introduced. At present, the tenants enjoy security services, facility maintenance services, event management and transportation services. Other services include meeting rooms, banking services, a nursery, restaurants and catering and postal services. In the near future, the Village will establish a Smart Village Convention and Exhibition Centre, a Spa, Wellness and Sport Centre, a Hotel and Apartment Hotels, the Smart Village Food Court, the Smart Village Shopping Centre, the Smart Village Business Centre and the Reception, Meetings and Events Centre.

I visited three buildings; the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Smart Village Pavilion and the Exceed Masria Contact Centre. The buildings are well-secured and very well taken care of. At the Contact Centre, I visited a Call Centre with Rabab Hassen, the Centre’s Marketing Communication Specialist. This Centre, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, has 1200 multi-channel seats (work stations) contained in a large L-shaped room. Catering to 12 different countries in 9 different languages, all of its agents are university graduates. They are given the potential to grow from being agents to supervisors and leaders. In this stable environment, they are well-trained and some are given the opportunity to be trained by the Centre’s specific clients internationally. Such offices allow Egypt to make great use of its graduates. As I looked around the village and moved from place to place with a mini-bus, I was overwhelmed with the size of the Village; it truly is larger than life. With many construction sites spread around, I could just see the significant role this Village will continue to play in Egypt and its neighbouring regions. It is something that Egyptians are very proud of; and this, you can see in the eyes of all of its employees. As the Prime Minister of Egypt, Ahmed Nafiz, said “The IT sector in Egypt holds a great promise for further growth and development.” I can see how the Smart Village will deliver that promise.