Although they are fewer and fewer, donkey carts still plod Cairo streets; women still lower baskets from their upstairs flats to have them filled by hawking street vendors and most cabs are buckety.  But there is a rapidly widening fault line in Egypt's torpid landscape and the light that gushes from it is, of course, electronic.

Only two years ago, we excitedly recorded the appearance of a computers in use in the local shisha cafe. Then, the men would share one machine-sharing, exclaiming, pointing and laughing together.

Today, laptops are routine. Look over one man's shoulder and note that he is reviewing the anatomy of the brain or the construction of the double helix.

When the people at Smart Village note that growth of internet use in Egypt is exponential, they're not exaggerating:40% a year. Along with the similarly skyrocketing use of mobile phones, IT is invading Egypt at a pace that puts the old Ottoman conquerors to shame.

The street opinion is that every home has a computer. - an anecdotal view corroborated by our finding a computer in the home of a woman living in her mausoleum-cum-home in Cairo's City of the Dead. It's buttressed by the fact that Microsoft, in partnership with the government offered great deals on computer purchases. The government also subsidizes internet connection fees making them one of the lowest in the world.

We asked a self-confesed computer addict how he learned to use the thing.  "It's so easy, he said. You sit a kid in front of one, they push the keys and they're off." Yes, he admitted, there's someone in the internet cafe to help if you needed it, but basically people just got it."

But the claims have to be taken with a grain of Egyptian salt. When you consider that 30% of Egyptians are illiterate even in Arabic, the "everybody" claim starts to teeter. Also that teachers, whose schools have been supplied with computers and who are supposed to be using them for teaching, often haven't mastered the tool. "The kids learn to use them," said a teacher at a semi-privileged school, "but not for research. They play games."

Sure enough, kids, even girls, in remote villages are said to sneak out at night to get to the screens

For the People

While it is difficult to substantiate facts in Egypt, it's clear that the government has made a concerted effort to revolutionize Egypt's communication environment. The Ministry of Communications and Internet Technology "guarantee[s] universal, easy, affordable and rapid access for all Egyptian citizens to ICT, and stimulating awareness of the potential uses and benefits of ICT," although it doesn't say when. A primary vehicle will be the proposed IT Clubs around the country intended to train 1,000,000 people.  

IT Clubs

The Clubs, established in collaboration with schools, clubs, universities, youth centers and located predominantly in poorer areas, have "computer labs fully equipped with computers, printers, networks, access to the internet, and most importantly the well-trained instructor." For outlying communities, the government has created a mobile unit. Students will be able to qualify the UNESCO certified "International Computer Driving License" at one of 157 sites nationwide. To succeed in teaching the 1,000,000 Egyptians to be computer literate - their goal - the Clubs must contend with Arabic illiteracy; they purport to offer online Arabic courses.

On the other end of the training spectrum, the government says it will offer "demand driven" training for companies looking for specific skills.

The centerpiece of the national IT education project is brand-new Nile University, a public private partnership, meant to "be a leader in the   advancement of higher education, applied research, and technological development, acquisition and transfer."

With its administration building prestigiously positioned along the main boulevard of Smart Village, its academic partnerships with Carnegie Mellon, Ohio State and Northwestern (all in the US), and th estrong support of the government, Nile University's appears to be an important asset in the technological transformation of the country.

Just maybe

In fact, the educational juggernaut is but one element in a highly developed strategic plan to put Egypt at the center of telecommunications for the Middle East and Africa. Recognizing the nation's fixed assets - located on the Mediterrean, linked to a  web of undersea fibre-optic cables, bi-lingual college graduates  - it's attractive for call centers as well as for business and knowledge processing.

Adel Danish, Chairmen and CEO of Xceed has the vision, "Our position should be that Egypt can be to Europe what India is to the US."  He has reason to hope.  Xceed "has seen its profits rise in recent years from 20% to 65% of revenues."

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