VZCZCXYZ0025
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #1828/01 1651259
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141259Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5683
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS CAIRO 001828 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/CBA (NANCY SMITH-NISSLEY) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BEXP ECON EINV ELAB ETRD EAID EG
SUBJECT: NOMINATION OF HP EGYPT FOR SECRETARY'S CORPORATE 
EXCELLENCE AWARD 
 
REF: STATE 71180 
 
¶1.  HP Egypt is actively addressing the pre-eminent economic 
problems in Egypt, both through its business practices and 
direct support to build the skills of the Egyptian workforce, 
thereby contributing to Egypt's sustainable economic 
development.  HP Egypt not only provides funds to directly 
assist Egyptians in developing their skills for the market 
place, but also invests and employs business practices to 
help Egypt's transition to a stable market economy with a 
skilled work force.  For its business model that helps create 
high-skilled employment, its commitment to sustainable 
improvement in education, and its efforts to assist in 
developing the Egyptian economy, Embassy Cairo is pleased to 
nominate Hewlett Packard (HP) Egypt for the Secretary's Award 
for Corporate Excellence (ACE) 2007. 
 
Job Creation Via HP Egypt's Indirect Business Model 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. HP Egypt has chosen a business model of doing 95 percent 
of its business with local partners, rather than making 
direct sales.  In the process it has created over 10,000 job 
opportunities in Egypt.  Sales occur through a network of 26 
local resellers/retailers and six distributors, the largest 
local distribution network for information and communications 
technology (ICT) products.  Egypt also relies on Egyptian 
companies and individuals for projects throughout the Middle 
East.  HP Egypt's partners, by necessity, must train their 
staff on HP products, meaning that the jobs created through 
HP Egypt's operations are generally skilled positions in ICT. 
 
SME Development 
--------------- 
 
¶3. Under HP's Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Program (MAP), HP 
Egypt has provided $150,000 in equipment, services, support 
to local training and business development service providers, 
and funds to give small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) 
access to technology, technology training, and business 
coaching.  HP Egypt focuses on giving SMEs the ICT tools they 
need to improve their business, training on using those 
tools, and business coaching to improve productivity and 
competitiveness. 
 
Sustainability in Education 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4. HP Egypt leads the sustainability working group under 
Egyptian Education Initiative (EEI), an Egyptian governmental 
effort to support education reform and maximize 
public-private partnerships in education.  HP Egypt is 
providing $85,000 in equipment and research funding to each 
of two Egyptian universities so far, and one more about to be 
announced - selected through a competition process.  It is 
also partnering with the American University in Cairo to 
provide change-management training, and consults with the 
government on sustainability and scalability of ongoing 
education reform. 
 
Infrastructure for Vocational Training 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. Under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) 
program, HP Egypt is helping Egyptian schools develop their 
vocational training capabilities.  HP Egypt funds, implements 
the infrastructure, and trains teachers in three different 
schools on integrated community-based programs in the 
schools, worth in total over $220,000.  HP Egypt also 
maintains the computer equipment necessary to sustain the 
projects. 
 
Increasing Trained ICT Professionals in Egypt 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. HP Egypt is increasing the number of trained ICT 
professionals in the Egyptian government by building a 
networking training classroom at the National 
Telecommunications Institute and by actively promoting 
improvement of networking skills.  HP Egypt will build the 
center, provide all the hardware, software, and training 
materials, and train the instructors, as well as provide 
support and maintenance for HP equipment. 
 
Equipment and Monetary Donations 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7. HP Egypt is donating equipment to schools under the 
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) 
and UN Development Program Smart Schools project.  For the 
 
preparatory schools in Siwa (a remote oasis near the Libyan 
border), HP has provided equipment and services to provide 
ICT access for 242 students, along with nine teachers and one 
administrative staff.  HP Egypt also donated 20 laptops for 
First Lady Suzanne Mubarak's "100 Schools" initiative, and 
another 10 for an education initiative by Prime Minister 
Nazif's wife. 
 
¶8. In order to promote e-government use, HP Egypt has given 
the Ministry of Administrative Development 36 prizes (such as 
camcorders and printers) to give away for those who most use 
Egypt's e-government services. 
 
¶9. HP Egypt has also donated LE 1 million (USD 175,000) for a 
data center at a local Cairo hospital. 
 
HP Egypt Director's Personal Social Responsibility 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶10.  We would also note that the head of HP Egypt, Ahmed 
Samy, sets a strong personal example to his own employees of 
responsible corporate citizenship.  He plays an active 
leadership role at the American Chamber of Commerce and is 
the incoming Chair of the ICT Committee.  He is also a board 
member of the Cairo Royal Rotary Club, of the NGO Friends of 
the Opera, and a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign 
Affairs. 
 
¶11. Given HP Egypt's business model and direct efforts to 
create jobs and develop the local economy, and its commitment 
to assisting in education reform, we believe that HP Egypt is 
an exemplary candidate for the 2007 ACE. 
JONES