iCafe project reaches Egypt

Egypt's English-language Daily News reports ("Microsoft inaugurates region’s first iCafe in Egypt", by Sherine El Madany) on the launch by Microsoft last month of its iCafe programme in Egypt. This project offers five local community libraries free access to the latest software technology and training curriculum. The iCafe programme is part of Microsoft Unlimited Potential, a long-term global business and citizenship commitment that seeks to improve lives of individuals and communities in the middle and bottom of the economic pyramid by delivering affordable and accessible technology that can help transform education and foster a culture of innovation, thus enabling better jobs and opportunities.

iCafe requires Microsoft to join forces with governments, businesses and non-profit organizations in order to extend the reach of IT skills and other market forces so as to redress the world’s inequities. Within the past year, Microsoft has launched initiatives similar to iCafe across the Middle East and Africa region, China, India, Latin America, Southeast Asia, as well as Central and South America. The aim is that, by 2015, Microsoft will reach around one billion people who have limited access or are not yet realizing the benefits of technology.