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Chatting with visionaries
Dispatch
Filed by Tarek Atia
March 21, 2001
Ready, set, internet!
Go straight to the dispatch from the conference's first day...
Changing Arab minds
Find out what the conference decided
The 'Information Technology and Telecommunications in the Arab World' conference was themed 'Accessing New Horizons'.
For the more than a thousand IT professionals taking part in the forum, it was the perfect opportunity to mix and mingle with leaders and visionaries in the fields. Below are excerpts from cairolive.com's interviews with three of the most prominent personalities there.
Interview with Khaldoun Tabaza, founder and director of Arabia online.
 Arabia.com has come a long way -- it is now widely considered the Arab world's most popular web-site. In his presentation to the conference on incubators Tabaza emphasized that although the concept of incubating a new idea with larger, more experienced players had inherent risks, incubators offer investors, entrepreneurs and the industry at large better odds of success in today's Internet economy.
Is it true Arabia started out as a mailing list?
No it started as a project by the company that was putting out BYTE magazine in the Middle East, as a way to put some of that content online. We bought the name, and said, hey why not just turn this into something bigger like what arabia.com has become.
But you really took off when you got a strategic investor?
We worked for three years – we had smaller investors – before Prince Waleed bin Talal became a strategic investor. Next week we're announcing a third-level of international financing, a list which includes some very impressive names.
Are you happy with the expansion, with the way Arabia went from being a very localized simple site to being the all-encompassing million things going on at once site it is today?
Yes, I'm happy with it. We employ a hundred people, and we're all working with the spirit and objective of preserving the Arab world's foot hold on the Internet. We're trying to strike a balance between the commercial and the entrepreneurial.
Now that you have a management company running things what's it like for you?
I have more time to be involved in different initiatives.
What revenue streams are you looking at?
Advertising.
That's working for you?
Yes it is, and we're also positioning ourselves as a provider of complete marketing vehicles and solutions rather than just advertising.
What about profitability?
We're looking to profit. It'll just take a few years.
Interview with Donald Upson, Secretary of Technology, State of Virginia
 The former Senior Vice President of PRC gave the conference the lowdown on why Virginia is the capital of the Internet. The state is the home of 13,000 IT companies doing $24 billion in revenues annually. Virginia's Internet policy act has been adopted by 17 states, and half of the world's internet traffic travels through the state's hardware. "Main street to e-street" is a state project aiming to make clear to traditional businesses what the internet can do for them.
How can Egypt do a little of what Virginia did in terms of IT growth?
The challenge is in taking some of the investment that's here now – largely military – and translate that into technology.
How can we increase Virginia companies' interests in Egypt?
It's personal relationships. Network Solutions CEO Mike Davies comes to Egypt all the time for business. I don't think he would mind talking more.
Tell me how your link to Egypt came about?
Egypt started for Virginia one of the most aggressive and international outreach programs anywhere. It all started with President Mubarak's visit. We knew we were big in the United States and all, but to have a world leader of his caliber show up and want to meet us… I sat on one side of Mubarak . He's a great world leader. He's not talking about specifics like computers and such, he's looking at the broader picture and how important this shift is to Egypt's future. Soon afterwards we had Ireland and India following suit, asking to meet us.
How did the idea of main street to e street come about?
Governor Gilmore was exploring alternatives to taxing the internet. This was a way to involve local governments, businessmen and citizens in a community-building value added idea.. I don't care how good your site is, it has to go down to the local level to really make a difference. It has to make clear to people why they will benefit from using it, as businesses, and as individuals.
Interview with John Scully, former CEO of Apple Computers
 The famous "wizard of marketing" -- the man who introduced snack foods to Pepsi, helping take it to the top, and who helped turn Apple computers into a multi-billion dollar a year business -- gave an inspiring address highlighting the "reinvention of work in the digital age". Sculley briefly touched on the role he played in transforming Bermuda and Ireland into IT powerhouses.
What were the factors that were in play that helped you orchestrate Bermuda's transformation from declining tourism capital to telecommunications island powerhouse?
Bermuda's economy had two legs. Tourism was one of them, but that was only available 6 months a year when the weather was favorable. And re-insurance was the other. That industry had its upswing over the last 20 years and Bermuda became the center of this industry after the problems with Lloyds of London. With the advent of the jet age, competition for tourism was cheaper, and costs went up. Tourists started flocking to islands in the Caribbean, taking away Bermuda's share. Our family has been in Bermuda since 1609, and we're very well networked there, so Sir John Swan, the premier, asked me and my brothers to help build a leg for Bermuda's economy. We brought in Cable and Wireless, Teledesic and other companies. The stable government and favorable tax advantages for companies were certainly factors that helped get the whole thing going.
What about the Irish miracle? Was it just the fact that you had the support of millions of Irish-Americans?
That certainly helped a lot. But it was also a pro-active government, no matter who was in power. Stability is good because business likes predictability. And success leads to success. We helped Apple, and Pepsi, to come in, and used them as models. The Irish Development Board had a lot to do with it.
Ready, set, internet!
Go straight to the dispatch from the conference's first day...
Changing Arab minds
Find out what the conference decided
Did you like this article? Send your comments to comments@cairolive.com
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