1. Palestinian ICT Sector Value Proposition
and areas of Cooperation with Malta ICT Sector
Malta Trade
Delegation
Mission
7 October, 2010
Presented by
Mr. Laith Kassis
CEO, PITA

2. PITA Mission
 To promote and
defend the ICT
Sector through:
 Advocating
Government
 Promoting
Members
 Developing
Markets
 Promotion of
Entrepreneurs
hip and
Innovation

3. Palestinian IT Association of Companies (PITA)
PITA members 1999 - 2010
Specialties:
Software development, Hardware, IT training and capacity building, Telecom
services, Education , and Outsourcing.

4.  US$300+ million current economic value-added
 $33+ million in 1997, nearly ten-fold increase
 $307 million forecast in 2010
 5%+ of Palestinian GDP
 300+ major ICT companies, which 90 are PITA
members
 90%+ of Palestine households with mobile
telephone service
 highest DSL subscriptions as percentage of
population across emerging markets
 ICT Workforce
 10,000+ persons employed in ICT related jobs
 3,500+ persons directly employed in the ICT sector
 High profitability: the 2007 annual average per paid ICT employee -
$31,770 value-added for a $7,192 compensation
 Advanced education system and reliable supply of
high quality graduates
 181,000 enrolled students in Palestine academic institutions
 10,500+ students in the ICT field
 2,200 annual graduates
ICT: Palestine’s Growth Sector

5. Palestine’s Highly Entrepreneurial SME ICT Sector
 Full inventory of competitive services and
solutions
 High growth ICT export sector (2006-2009):
 45% increase in total number of ICT
companies
 25% annual increase in the local IT market
 Solid history of partnerships and vendor
contacts throughout markets in Middle East
 New Equity based Financial Tools:
 Middle East Venture Capital Fund
(MEVCF) in the process of securing $50
million anchor investment by European
Investment Bank (December 2009)
 Palestine Growth Fund in the process of
securing $50 million anchor investment by
PIF and Dubai based Abraj Capital in Dubai
in $10 Million
 Siraj Private Equity Fund organized by
Massar Group

6.  Increased Export Sales :
Global
Markets
Regional
Markets
France Jordan
Nigeria Egypt
Germany Libya
South Korea Iraq
Canada UAE
USA Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Yemen
• ICT Strengths: 50% of Palestine companies
provide software development, consulting
and online services
30% of PITA companies are
already exporting products
and services

7.  Major joint R&D projects: CISCO, Intel, Microsoft
and SIEMENS
 U.S collaborations through Cisco, Intel and others
 50% of ICT companies have business relationships
outside of Palestine (sales, installing applications,
services and distributorships)
 32% of Palestine ICT companies work directly with
Israeli companies
Plus:
 Linux  IMTF  Sun  Symbol  Open Text
 Siemens  APC  Zoom International  Coca Cola
 Palestine ICT Company Partnerships

8.  Access to 300 million consumers in the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA)
 In-depth knowledge and
compatibility in
 Language and Culture
 Delivery of award-winning
products and services and skilled
interfacing with
 Europe and MENA countries
and markets
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
Strong and Growing Palestine
and Regional ICT Markets

9. One Time
Zone,
Real-time
Competitive
Cost Base
English-
Arabic -Hebrew
language skills
Trained
HR
Resources
Companies
with Track
record
Emerging
Investment
and Business
Environment
 Successes with Leading Global ICT Company
Strategic Customer s and Clients:

10. Source: The Palestinian ICT Sector … A Three-Year Outlook…Based on Economic Indicators
SWOT Analysis

11.  VPNs
 VPNs are very common in
Palestine
 There are several internal
and international VPNs
running
 Telecommunication Infrastructure
 Connectivity and Internet access
Telecommunication Infrastructure

12.  Tax on corporate profits is now 15%
 Maximum rate of personal income tax is
20%
 Investment Promotion Law provides
effectively a Zero Tax Rate for new IT
projects for 5-7 years, thus encouraging
cost effective initiatives.
 HR development and training costs are
now treated as capital investment for the
IT industry
 Low cost training and certification
compared to the region
 Fees for Palestinian labor will be paid as
“Professional Fees” applicable to the VAT
Investment Promotion Law

13. Incubation
SME
Toolkit
Mentors
Seed Funding
Workshops
Power
Breakfast
Business
Environment
Offices
SME
Calendar
NetworkingEducation
Policies
Investors
Development
Agencies
Industry
Associations
Good Practices
PICTI Incubation is about
People, Process, Business Relationships
Leading towards Economic Development
Process

14. Technopark

16. Entrepreneurship Forums and Investment Matchmaking
Design trade missions to learn more about possible joint
venture in technology
Develop New Marketing Channels to facilitate entry
into both markets and regional markets
Direct Regional Investment Clustering through Seed Funding
and Venture Capital
Develop BPO/ ITO Outsourcing opportunities
Cooperation:
Engage in implementation of joint R&D and ICT Projects
in the region and e-government initiative
Graphics Source: CISCO and used with verbal permission

17. Areas of Cooperation with Malta ICT Sector

18. Thank You!
Al Sheikh Commercial Tower, 4th floor, Al-Quds Street
Al-Bireh, Palestine,
www.pita.ps