Business & Government

Venkatesh Shankar Urges Egyptian Business Leaders To Collaborate With U.S.

April 23, 2018

CAIRO, EGYPT - FEBRUARY 8. Vendors are seen in the Khan al-Khalili bazaar on February 8, 2006 in Islamic Cairo, Egypt. The Khan is one of the largest bazaars in the Middle East and began as a caravanserai built in 1382 by Garkas al-Khalili. Cairo is still the heart of Egypt and is allegorically called "the Mother of World" Greater Cairo's population is estimated at between 18 and 22 million, roughly a quarter of Egypt's total. Some 62 slums and squatter settlements alone are home to about five million people. And there are countless numbers of people living in the ancient cemeteries known as the City of the Dead. The massive and continual increase in the number of people has overwhelmed the city. Housing shortages are rife, buses are packed to the hilt, snarled traffic paralyses life in the city and broken pipes spew water and sewage into the streets. Everything i s discolored , buildings, buses and footpaths are brown and grew from smog and desert dust. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)
Vendors are seen in the Khan al-Khalili bazaar on February 8, 2006 in Islamic Cairo, Egypt. The Khan is one of the largest bazaars in the Middle East and began as a caravanserai built in 1382 by Garkas al-Khalili. (Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)
By Kelli Levey Reynolds, Texas A&M University Mays Business School

Marketing Professor Venkatesh Shankar was an invited guest of the U.S. State Department in Cairo, Egypt last week, where he delivered multiple presentations on marketing. He said online promotion can make a quantum leap in the trade between Egypt and the United States.

At the International Conference on Business Sciences on April 15-16, Shankar delivered presentations on “Innovations in Emerging Economies” and “Digital Marketing: Trends and the Future.” He spoke at the American Chamber of Commerce, Cairo University, Nile University, Ain Shams University, American University in Cairo, and American Embassy.

During a meeting with a number of journalists at the American Embassy in Cairo, he said electronic marketing helps to provide information about the products available in Egypt, and is a competitive advantage in the U.S. market. “Electronic marketing can make a difference in the movement of trade in the sectors of cars and technology among countries in the next five years,” he said.

Shankar said the advantages of electronic marketing will not stop at exports and imports between Egypt and the U.S., but could also introduce American consumers to some Egyptian products and services, enabling Egyptian entrepreneurs to market their products electronically and exchange experiences with their counterparts in the U.S.

“The challenge here is that some communication technologies are not as powerful in rural areas,” Shankar said. “They will have to focus on covering those regions.”

Shankar called on all companies to increase their investments in the development of the technology sectors infrastructure, which helps to expand the establishment of electronic stores and facilitates the transport of electronic goods. “Large companies rely on electronic marketing because they consider it a powerful tool to promote their products,” he said.

About Shankar:

Venkatesh (Venky) Shankar is the Coleman Chair Professor of Marketing and Director of Research at the Center for Retailing Studies, Mays Business School. His areas of specialization include digital business, marketing strategy, innovation, retailing, international marketing, and pricing. He has been recognized as one among the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds by Thomson Reuters and as a Top 10 scholar worldwide on innovation.

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This story by Kelli Levey Reynolds originally appeared in Mays Impacts.

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