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Samer Karawi Regional Partner - Middle East Office 210 – Indigo Tower Jumeirah Lakes Towers P.O. Box 37109 Dubai - United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 432 7940 Mobile: +971 5 455 6239 Email: info_ME@theyorkgroup.com |
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Asem Galal Regional Partner - Middle East Office 210 – Indigo Tower Jumeirah Lakes Towers P.O. Box 37109 Dubai - United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 432 7940 Mobile: +971 5 655 3230 Email: info_ME@theyorkgroup.com |
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Samer Karawi and Asem Galal have 38 years of combined experience in multinational IT companies in the Middle East market behind us, including Microsoft, HP, Compaq, Borland & McAfee in management, sales, marketing, product management & systems development roles. On 08/08/08 we recognized the opportunity that the financial crisis has opened for startups and entrepreneurs and founded G&K Consulting. G&K Consulting helps companies from around the world to operate in Middle East and Africa with no physical presence and minimal resources, by helping them develop the sales channel, customer funnel and marketing activities. G&K Consulting is considered as pioneer in providing such services in the Middle East.
| Spending ($millions) | ||||
| Technology Sectors | UAE | Kuwait | Saudi Arabia | Egypt |
| Hardware | 1,008 | 280 | 1,133 | 287 |
| Software | 255 | 114 | 353 | 220 |
| Services | 1,001 | 354 | 1,516 | 386 |
| Communications | 3,472 | 556 | 4,802 | 694 |
| TOTAL ICT Spend | 5,737 | 1303 | 7,803 | 1,587 |
| Vertical Markets | ||||
| Agriculture | 3 | 0 | 47 | 23 |
| Manufacturing | 682 | 201 | 633 | 137 |
| Utilities | 340 | 9 | 15 | 26 |
| Construction | 96 | 12 | 149 | 13 |
| Wholesale & Retail | 799 | 63 | 377 | 248 |
| Transportation & Communication | 489 | 77 | 656 | 242 |
| Finance & Bus. Services | 108 | 122 | 438 | 18 |
| Other Services | 391 | 112 | 461 | 282 |
| Government | 182 | 345 | 2,768 | 230 |
| Consumer | 1,424 | 250 | 1,293 | 351 |
| Software Piracy | 35% | 62% | 51% | 60% |
Regional Overview
The Middle
East is a region comprised of the lands that extend from the eastern
Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It defines a cultural area, so
it does not have precise borders but is generally taken to include:
Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, Iran (Persia), Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab
Emirates and Yemen.
The countries of the Maghreb (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia) are frequently linked to the Middle East due to their strong historical and cultural associations, as is Sudan. The African countries Mauritania and Somalia also have links to the region.
The region is home to the world's largest reserves of Oil and Natural Gas and esp. the Gulf countries have some of the highest per capita incomes in the world.
Surprisingly, though, the regions have lagged the rest of the world with regards to the adoption of technology and the percentage of GDP spent on research and development. This has been identified as a serious problem by local governments and they are making a significant effort to ensure that this is corrected in the long term.
Some interesting facts: