Egypt as a location of choice for supporting the US consumer. RYAN STRATEGIC ADVISORY PUBLISHES WHITE PAPER FOR XCEED

2. Introduction to BPO in Egypt
Located in the center of the world and linking two major continents, Egypt boasts a unique
blend of cultural and economic qualities that have long made it one of the most attractive
destinations for business process outsourcing (BPO) services globally.
Due primarily to it physical location and its large, fast-growing talent pool, Egypt has been
recognized by many reputable research and industry associations as one of the world’s top
destinations for BPO. Most recently, Egypt was included in the top five most favorable offshore
contact center delivery locations in the Ryan Strategic Advisory 2019 Front Office Omnibus
Survey, showing that the country’s value proposition is still very attractive to enterprise leaders.
Thanks to game-changing moves by industry players and the government, Egypt’s strengths in
BPO now include more diverse, high-value forms of service delivery, including front-line, back
office, and digital technology. Currently, the country’s ICT sector is the fastest-growing, as well
as being the largest contributor to GDP—in 2017, ICT exports stood at US$3.26 billion.
Combined with its linguistic strengths and its population of nearly 98 million (almost as large as
the Philippines), Egypt’s evolution has helped the country become highly appealing to a new
generation of BPO leaders and their clients.
Although Egypt’s offshore BPO industry was temporarily disrupted by the political turmoil of
2011, the country has now returned to its path of becoming a top-tier offshore contact center
outsourcing destination, making it an essential consideration for buyers of third-party services.

3. Suitability for BPO and IT Services
Talent Pool
With its large and fast-growing talent pool ideally suited to the BPO industry, Egypt is producing
enough workers to go around, positioning it far from the difficulties of a saturated market. This
scalability really sets Egypt apart from other outsourcing destinations in Europe, and, indeed,
globally.
The country’s government and educational institutes have been focusing on creating a thriving
resource pool in a variety of IT, BPO, and KPO technologies, and continue to churn out a large
number of graduates in technical fields year on year. In fact, Egypt produces approximately
90,000 graduates of engineering, 18,000 in computer and information, 22,600 in technology,
and 66,000 in general science each year. Language skills are also noticeably strong, with
thousands of English language graduates and a significant number in French, German, Spanish,
and Italian graduates produced each year.
This combined strength of technical education and language proficiency, along with the
immense volume of potential employees, makes Egypt’s talent pool an attractive value
proposition.
Accessibility
Egypt’s transportation infrastructure is a current priority area for the government, with the
process of refurbishing roads, ports, and railways now underway. Private sector partners are
also involved, as outlined in the Transport Master Plan, which details plans for improvement
through to 2027.

4. From an accessibility standpoint, Cairo is much closer to key US and European locations than its
main competing markets, in some cases by more than 10 hours. This makes it much more
attractive for those enterprises that wish to engage with their offshore BPO teams and on a
regular basis.
Price point
Egypt has long been known for its competitive cost when compared to other offshoring
destinations. As per the most recent pricing study (2018) by Ryan Strategic Advisory, Egypt is
roughly on par with India and the Philippines for inbound voice care, while lower than other
North African and European nearshore destinations. It also remains notably lower than key
demand markets including the UK and North America.

5. In November 2016, Egypt floated its currency, which led to the devaluation of the EGP against
the USD. This greatly accentuated the location’s overall level of affordability, due to a reduction
of various input costs.

6. Demand market favorability
In 2019, Egypt was found to be the 4th most favorable offshore location (out of roughly 40) in
the annual Ryan Strategic Advisory Omnibus survey, rising from 7th place in 2018 and 22nd in
2017. The government and the industry’s massive emphasis on marketing Egypt as a viable
offshore location has clearly had a profound impact on buyer perspectives.

7. The ongoing demand from multi-national companies for services delivered from Egypt reflects
the renewed confidence in Egypt’s capabilities as an outsourcing destination. The survey results
indicated above are an indicator that Egypt’s outsourcing value proposition remains very
relevant in the global market, which is prompting the country’s government to prioritize
attracting new BPO investments.
And there is evidence that Egypt’s outsourcing stakeholders are on the right track in the
development of its IT, BPO and KPO services export industry, as it’s now considered one of the
fastest-growing offshore destinations in the world. It is noted that its BPO and IT industry
attained a market share in the global offshore BPO market of 16.9% in 2019, with ongoing
diversification in the services that are being provided from its shores.
Xceed as the logical partner for US enterprise BPO requirements
Since its inauguration in 2001, Egyptian service provider Xceed has been at the forefront of the
country’s BPO sector. It is now one of the leading homegrown multilingual Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) providers in the EMEA region, currently operating from multiple sites in
Egypt and one Moroccan site in Casa Near Shore, Casablanca, which was recently expanded to
1000 seats
With its established tenure in the country, Xceed is experienced in delivering high-quality
services across numerous industries, such as telecoms, fast food, technology, tourism,
automotive, financial services, fast-moving consumer goods, and healthcare. The company
serves a number of key government accounts and has continuous support from the Ministry of
Communication and Information Technology. Its growing network of onshore and offshore
corporate clients include Microsoft Global, Cisco, and Oracle, along with other Fortune Global
500 firms.
Strategic locations
Xceed currently has eight sites across Egypt and Morocco with an operating capacity of 7,000
web-enabled, multi-channel workstations. Capitalizing on its continuous success, Xceed is now
preparing for global expansion, with service delivery locations being eyed in the US, Europe,
and the Gulf. With more offshore and onshore options on the horizon, the company will
continue to be in a strategic position to offer US buyers a means to diversify their outsourced
services across multiple locales.

8. Vertical reach
Xceed has experience working with clients across both mature and emerging industries. These
include the following listed below.
Next-Gen Technological Focus
Xceed prides itself on its ability to adopt disruptive technologies at the benefit of its clients,
such as RPA, AI, and predictive analytics. The company is also partnered with top security
vendors to maximize network and data security for client intellectual property. This has allowed
the company to optimize performance while maintaining best-in-class service quality, all while
delivering superior quality and value to its clients.
Conclusion
The world of offshore outsourcing is changing and in many ways what was once old, is new
again. This is absolutely the case in terms of Egypt’s applicability as a delivery point for front-
line BPO services. With a solid value proposition, one built on accessibility, affordability and
favorability, the Egyptian outsourcing value proposition has never been stronger. With a
burgeoning community of home-grown players at its heart, it is little wonder why there is
renewed interest in doing customer experience in Egypt.
Xceed has remained at the forefront of Egypt’s BPO offering, and is positioning its services to
American clients anxious for delivery point diversity. Its expanding network of centers affords it
access to talent, which is crucial in servicing a wide array of vertical markets. Equally, the focus
on higher-value technology should not be underestimated given the growing demands of
clients. Moving forward, expect Xceed to continue disrupting customer experience
management in Egypt for enterprises across the US.