The American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt– along with prominent business organizations Egypt-US Business Council and Egyptian Businessmen’s Association– welcomed Microsoft CEO and chief software architect Bill Gates on January 29 for a special dinner and panel discussion at the JW Marriott. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and other senior government officials, as well as leading Egyptian businessmen, attended the event.

Gates, in Egypt for the second year in a row, began by remarking on the significant changes that have taken place since his previous visit. “I couldn’t be more excited about the changes taking place here in Egypt and the opportunities that we have to be one of the companies that helps out with these changes,” he said, referring to last July’s Cabinet shuffle and subsequent economic reforms.

He said the changes that have taken place in Egypt over the past year have been bold and at times challenging. “[But] these challenges are so important for the future of Egypt and [its] progress under leadership of the Nazif government and the people he has brought in to the government.”
Gates was also excited about the changes taking place in the world of technology. He said technology had become more approachable, pointing out: “We are finally using technology for some of the toughest problems like eliminating paperwork.”

The Microsoft chief said the various e-government projects taking place throughout the world, including several projects in Egypt, were good examples of how technology can make our lives easier. “We are making government closer to citizens. Allowing people to reach out even to partners at a distance and collaborate with them,” he said.

In spite of the fact that technology has become more simplified, the number of homes with PCs worldwide still hovers at 10 percent. Prices must come down in order for people to have access to computers and the Internet, Gates said. “The ability to actually unify the network for telephony, the network for TV and the network for the Internet into a single network will actually drive down prices so that even developing countries [can benefit from it].”

To make this a reality, Gates said Microsoft was increasing its investment in R&D to $6 billion a year, almost double what the company spent three years ago. This money would also go towards developing software to protect systems against security attacks.

On investing in Egypt, Gates explained that he was particularly proud to be among the first IT companies to move to the Smart Village near 6th of October City. He explained that the emphasis that Egypt has placed on IT and communications will help its efforts to transform the economy from being domestically focused to being internationally competitive. “Moving from an economy [that focuses] on creating products for the domestic economy [to] having those products sold globally, thinking about competitiveness [though] information technology will be a key part of [becoming] globally competitive,” he said. “Companies here will be competing with companies in India and China. They will be selling to companies in India and China and really embracing the future in terms of reforms in the economy, constantly improving the investments made in education.”

Gates characterized Egypt has having a lot of untapped potential. However, he believes that prime minister Nazif has the ability to do just that, pointing out that the international press has also expressed its admiration of Nazif’s appointment. “The business community [is also] encouraged by the steps taken,” he said, adding: “that’s a very positive thing when you want to draw investment in. You need [to create] the opportunity to cut through red tape and to do business.”

Speaking on social responsibility, Gates explained that he is very passionate about two things. “The first [has to do with] every citizen accessing information technology and not just at universities and businesses.” He said Microsoft’s program, Unlimited Potential, “gets connections out into the communities, [ensuring] our software is there so that basically everyone has that access. Egypt has done a good job of bringing the Internet costs down. It’s more difficult in [countries other than] Egypt.”

Gates said his passion is also his personal belief that developing better medicine should not be limited to benefiting developed countries. He said the Bill Gates Foundation has made this its goal, putting prevention and treatment of AIDS and malaria, as well as childhood vaccination, at the top of its agenda. “We were very pleased to help out in Egypt [providing] a grant through UNICEF that will help in the final phase of polio vaccination [with] a new and even more effective vaccine that will be used next year,” he said.

In classic Gates style, the richest man in the world pointed out that he was an optimist who believed that Egypt was very much on the right track. He encouraged all those involved with reform efforts in Egypt to continue their work. He concluded by thanking the audience for the opportunity to address them once again and reaffirming his commitment to continually supporting the growth of the Egyptian market. "Gates and Nazif also fielded questions from the audience."

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