Corporate Service Corps

With nearly 80 million people, Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. IBM has been an involved and contributing part of the Egyptian economy since its establishment in 1954. CSC teams were first deployed to Egypt in October 2009, in locales that have included Luxor and Damietta. The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Investment is the key local host organization. CSC assignments have included supporting improving internal trade, integrating informal markets and advancing gender inclusion objectives.

• CSC Egypt 1

  1st October 2009 - 31st October 2009

  "A team of ten IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) Leaders from seven worldwide operations who possessed a broad range of skills, was selected to work as part of a four-week project assignment in Egypt. The project intent was to achieve Ministry of Trade and Industry goals to improve domestic trade in Upper Egypt, taking Luxor as a model to be replicated in other governorates throughout Egypt.

  The team assignment was to create local market integrations as well as internal trade master planning for handicrafts and agri-business in a manner that yielded three specific deliverables.

  The first deliverable that the team provided was a well-documented, qualitative analysis of the Creative Crafts Industry’s business value chain that included demand generation, product development, and customer service. The second deliverable was an analysis of domestic enterprise abilities and productive capacity of small producers through commercially viable business activities, clustering and collaboration, and enhancement of a consortia. The third deliverable was a recommendation to integrate the Creative Crafts Industry and small local producers into existing internal trade markets.

  The final recommendation included handicrafts but catered more to agricultural industries based upon studies with participating clients. Participating clients included the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI); Internal Trade Development Organization (ITDO), which is an agency of MTI; Dr. Samir Farag , Governor of Luxor; Information Decision Support Center (IDSC) of the Egyptian Cabinet; small farmers in the Luxor Governorate; and secondary client or partner organizations."
• CSC Egypt 2

  11 February 2010 – 25 March 2010

  "Egypt Team 2 was comprised of eleven team members originating from seven nations including Australia; Canada; India; Japan; Korea; Peru; and the United States of America.

  Our assignment was based in Luxor, Egypt where we partnered with United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organizations, the Governor of Luxor, and Egypt’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.

  Sub-team 1 worked on the Nubian Culture and Heritage Preservation Project by creating strategies for promoting Nubian Culture in Luxor and providing recommendations on how to generate income from Nubian Cultural products.

  Sub-team 2 worked on a key horticulture project by mapping the supply chain of selected horticultural crops, analyzing existing gaps and assisting small local farmers to obtain supply chain access in order to improve their income.

  In terms of community outreach, the team designed a website for the Suzanne Mubarak Women's Centre and visited an agricultural high school where we planned an internship program that facilitated exposure to more information and opportunities for practical experiences to enhance the learning process for current students.

  Our favorite memory as a group was stargazing in the Sahara Desert."
• CSC Egypt 3

  29 April 2010 – 29 May 2010

  "Egypt Team 3 included ten participants from Japan, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, USA, Singapore, India and Brazil. We were based in Ismailia, which is in the North of Egypt.

  The project goal was to enhance small farmers’ (Primary producers) livelihood through increased access to income, dairy quality, and safety best practices. Furthermore, they extended the Food Safety Agency to the Canal area by creating a regional unit utilizing the Suez Canal University.

  In order to get deeper insights of the Dairy & Milk market space in Lower Egypt, numerous meetings were held with the various primary stakeholders, ranging from government officials and key agencies, small farmers, the extension office, non-governmental organizations, and the Suez Canal University. This interaction enabled a holistic view of the Dairy & Milk panorama in Ismailia.

  Aside from various weekend trips and playing soccer at least once a week, one of the team’s favorite memories were the meetings with the local farmers and community, which was a totally different environment from what the team members were used to at IBM."
• CSC Egypt 4

  08 October 2010 - 06 November 2010

  "Egypt Team 4 was comprised of thirteen people from seven worldwide operations who possessed a broad range of skills and were selected to work as part of a four-week project assignment in Egypt. The aim of the project was to conduct a comprehensive analysis and provide recommendations related to the child nutrition observatory system, adaptation to regional climate changes and water conservation, livestock value chain mapping, and Eco/Agro Tourism.

  In essence, the team worked with five clients to enhance the livelihood of vulnerable communities in Aswan through identifying strategies for sustainable economic development, food security and safety programs that serve to generate income and to promote nutrition using Tomas and Wadi Allaqi as selected models. The five clients were the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA); The World Food Program (WFP); Unesco (Egypt); the Governorate of Aswan; and Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT).

  Some of our favorite memories were the favorable impacts that we made and receptive greetings that we received while visiting the villages of Kalabsha, Tomas and the nomads in the desert. The children’s faces will remain in our minds forever. Other very important memories that will also remain forever embedded in our minds were working daily as a team and going thru the amazing process together."