Before Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, the billionaire made headlines for ordering Tesla employees to return to the office at least 40 hours a week. Google and Apple followed suit not long after, demanding at least three days in the office per week.
The companies defended their decision by citing a loss of social capital when employees primarily work from home. Things like training junior employees, in-person team meetings, and serendipitous teamwork, they argue, simply can’t be had in remote work environments. To some extent and depending on the company and work, it could certainly be true that companies lose a degree of social capital if they operate fully remotely.
But that’s probably mostly because remote work as a company policy is such a new phenomenon that most executives simply haven’t had the time to adapt work flows and procedures to maximize productivity and ensure there isn’t social-capital leakage.
The expansion in remote and hybrid work offers so many advantages that it’s not likely to go away anytime soon. As such, industry leaders would be remiss in not making it work—or they’ll miss out on growing opportunities in emerging economies.
The UN affirmed digital tech investments are critical to the workforce in emerging market economies, and taking Egypt as a case study shows just how much.
Cairo, the country’s bustling capital, saw an overall uptick of 60% in VC funding rounds over the past five years, culminating in a whopping 156% rise between 2020 and 2021, according to a report published by Startup Genome. This growth places Egypt in the top four countries in Africa with the most dynamic fintech sectors. From 2015 to 2021, some 318 startups from Egypt have raised $791 million in total funding across 447 different rounds, according to the startup analysis platform Disrupt Africa.
The Egyptian government is also boosting the country’s appeal as an investment destination by making significant efforts to support tech0, enacting laws to protect startups and promoting the collaboration between startups and universities in the country.
University programs in Greater Cairo alone have supported at least 600 startups. Some universities, including in Alexandria and Assiut, even started teaching entrepreneurship as an academic discipline.
Simultaneously, the Egyptian government passed several laws to encourage local startup growth. Laws that grant entrepreneurs and startups tax benefits or even residential status to non-Egyptian investors were passed to provide incentives through legislation.
Uncertainty breeds opportunity
Despite the growing success the tech sector has had in the country, Egypt, much like the rest of the world, is feeling the effects of the stagnant economy. With markets worldwide trending downward, declines in venture funding, and investors pulling their money, Egypt was destined to feel the heat.
As the word “layoffs” was featured in every tech publication, Egypt’s tech companies also started laying off workers, citing the economic downturn. For tech companies operating outside the country, this environment translates into a gold mine of talent that already has experience working in a competitive market.
Indeed, companies already began capitalizing on this opportunity. The Egyptian Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) reported a rise in the number of business services and IT jobs offshored to the country.
The blossoming of Egypt’s technology sector over the last several years means Egypt’s tech talent is eager to continue its development regardless of the economic situation plaguing the tech industry both domestically and globally. This is good news for both established industry giants and promising startups in need of filling key positions with talented and motivated workers.
With the most accelerated startup ecosystem in Africa and a growing focus on boosting female participation in the sector, including supporting women founders, Egypt is well positioned to make an impact on the international stage. While close to one third of all Egyptian startups are in the e-commerce and fintech sectors, the ecosystem is becoming increasingly diverse with more and more startups forming in the fields of medtech, ed-tech, logistics, AI/IOT, recruitment, and marketing.
This growing diversity across tech sectors is mirrored in the diversity of its workforce talent. Egyptian software developers and engineers are some of the best in Africa and the Middle East and the country is enjoying an entrepreneurial renaissance with startups attracting some of the most sought-after tech VCs.
As the internationalization of the tech industry intensifies even more, diversity is fast becoming the norm and a pillar that most organizations, from small startups to multinational firms, value. With a noticeable lack of representation from the Arab and African worlds, Egypt is an up-and-coming tech hotbed that dynamic, multinational brands can’t afford to overlook.
In the era of digital nomads and remote work, it’s become completely normal to have teams across multiple continents, with, for example, an American head of sales, a team of developers based in Poland, and marketing team members from all over the world. While Egypt’s tech community is still young and maturing, its unique diversity provides the tech industry with plenty of talent and experience to help any company meet its business objectives.
Hiring abroad opens up a door to new talent for positions that might otherwise remain unmanned. For the talent, it means gaining experience at an international company with possibly higher salaries that would help boost the tech market in the country, a win-win for all.
Levin Wense is cofounder and CEO of MVP Match, a marketplace and community for matchmaking fast-growing companies with global vetted tech talent. His expertise encompasses a wide range of HR fields, including tech requirements, operations, outbound talent acquisition, maximizing productivity, and building high-performing distributed teams.
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