They’re here to sell IT destinations

It’s the third day of the Nasscom India Leadership Forum 2008, the country’s largest information technology conclave, and Amin Kharaldin is beaming, but tired.
Beaming, because he has managed a decent success rate for what he came here for, and tired, because he hasn’t stopped talking to prospective clients to set up a base in Egypt, his homeland, since he landed here 72 hours back.
With India at the centre stage of the global information technology (IT) outsourcing market, other nations are keen on taking her expertise.
And what better place to market than Nasscom, which has the who’s who of the Indian IT industry making presentations and holding summit meets.
Nasscom has attracted delegations from countries like China, Malaysia, Egypt and Pakistan, which are here to attract investments and partnership opportunities to develop the IT scene back home.
These nations are trying to learn from India where players have scaled up rapidly over the last decade to emerge as preferred partners for IT outsourcing. And each nation has its own niche unique selling proposition (USP).
“Five big BPOs are looking at Egypt to set up base there. They have accepted our invitation to come and conduct due diligence, which they will do by March-April. We can hope to make some announcements during the third quarter of the year,” said Kharaldin, who is a board member of ITIDA, an Egyptian government arm, set up with a mission to expand the IT market there.
Kharaldin is ready with reasons why Egypt should be the next destination for Indian companies looking to set up delivery centres overseas.
“Even on a fully loaded (full tax rate) basis, our costs are as low, if not lower, than similar operations in India which enjoy tax breaks. We offer convenient time zone, multi-lingual population and gateway to markets like the Arab world and Europe. We pay 80% of the training cost and match the cheapest telecom cost you can find anywhere,” Kharaldin, advisor and board member, ITIDA, said.