Press release
Ministry of Communications & IT and GE form strategic
partnership and launch a digital innovation challenge to solve
Egypt’s industrial challenges

The challenge is held in cooperation with the Technology
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC)

The challenge aims to find digital solutions for industrial
challenges in healthcare, transportation, and energy

Three winners will each be awarded EGP 100,000* and given the
opportunity to receive training and develop their ideas on GE’s
open source industrial software platform, Predix
Date published: 5 September 2016
GE (NYSE: GE) today announced the launch of the GE Egypt Digital Innovation Challenge,
in partnership with the Ministry of Communications and IT (MCIT). The Challenge is an
open innovation competition to encourage Egyptian minds to find digital solutions for
some of the country’s industrial challenges in healthcare, transportation, and energy.
The initiative is held in cooperation with the Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Center (TIEC); an affiliate of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency
(ITIDA). Ideas can be submitted online from September 5 – November 30, 2016.
http://invent.ge/EgyptDigitalChallenge
One winner will be selected from each of the three categories, and will win a cash award
of EGP 100,000*, as well as an opportunity to receive training to develop their software
solution on Predix. Predix is an operating system and platform for building applications
that connects industrial assets, collects, and analyzes data, and delivers real-time
insights for optimizing industrial infrastructure and operations.
Yasser El Kady, Minister of Communications and Information Technology in Egypt, stated:
“We aim to create a strong base of competent entrepreneurs capable of utilizing
technology to address Egypt’s challenges. This new partnership supports our mission and
helps innovators and software developers master and design digital solutions for industry,
and showcases their capability to work with the government and global technology
innovators.”
The competition calls for students, SMEs, and entrepreneurs with a passion for
innovation to submit digital solutions that solve the challenges below. The three sectors
included in the competition go hand-in-hand with the government’s current vision for
Egypt to drive sustainable development across industries:

Energy: Egypt has announced a target of doubling the country’s energy efficiency
rate, with a target of renewable energy reaching 20% of the energy mix by 2022.
We are looking for a digital solution that will help stabilize the electric grid as
various power sources, such as gas, wind, solar and coal, go online and offline.

Healthcare: The government aims to achieve equitable access to 80% of essential
health interventions. The challenge is to develop a digital solution to help track a
hospital’s installed base of equipment, and improve process, operations, and flow.

Transportation: Egypt has a goal to raise the share of Egypt’s rail freight
operations from 1% to 10% over the coming 15 years. We are asking for a digital
solution to remotely monitor the rail fleet and record information about operations,
maintenance cycles, and scheduling.
Dr. Hossam Osman, ITIDA VP, added: “Our aim is to stimulate open innovation among
software developers and the digital community. We look forward to seeing the innovative
solutions that are developed through the GE Egypt Digital Innovation Challenge, and are
confident that participants will help Egypt become a global competitor in high value-add
innovation.”
Ayman Khattab, President & CEO, GE North East Africa, stated: “At GE, we prioritize
investment in Egypt’s youth; we believe it is our responsibility to provide them with the
right access to information and skills development training, such as with Predix, allowing
them to explore new opportunities. As a digital industrial company, we know that science
and technology have the power to solve global challenges, and by partnering with the
MCIT and TIEC on this competition, we believe we will enhance the ecosystem’s
confidence in solving their own country’s problems.”
In the region and around the globe, GE’s approach to open innovation is helping to
address customer and country needs more efficiently and effectively. By sourcing and
supporting innovative ideas wherever they might come from, we can apply GE’s scale
and expertise to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges.
- ENDS –
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About ITIDA:
The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) is a governmental
entity affiliated to Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. It is
responsible for growing and developing Egypt’s position as a leading global outsourcing
location by attracting foreign direct investment to the industry and maximizing the
exports of IT services and applications.
Located in the heart of the modern business environment at Smart Village, the six
hundred acre business park on the outskirts of Cairo, ITIDA is a self-sustainable entity
that drives the IT industry in Egypt and raises awareness among the Egyptian people of
the benefits and use of ICT to advance socio-economic welfare of the whole community.