The Algerian Agency for the Promotion and Development of Technology Parks (ANPT) and Cisco Systems have penned an agreement to establish a Cisco Academy in Algeria, the ICT company’s 69th facility.

The ANPT said the Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the Director General of ANPT, Kaouther Hamitou, and the regional director Cisco Systems for Algeria and Tunisia, Karim Sid Ahmed, also covers the transfer of technology in various segments including cybersecurity.

Under the agreement, the new Cisco academy will serve students, IT professionals, administrations and network security specialists, and other targeted users to obtain a professional Cisco certification.

“The signing of this memorandum of understanding thus brings the number of existing Cisco national academies in Algeria to 68 with 7,900 students certified by these academies,” said Ahmed.

With the latest Academy, the number of beneficiaries can increase to 10,000, he added.

Ahmed said that local start-ups can also benefit from a specifically designed program that will allow them to communicate with international Cisco laboratories and access free technical and technological data that will allow them to develop their projects.

“This partnership will also extend to academic and industrial collaborations in the fields of cybersecurity, smart grids and innovation,” Ahmed said.

According to a report by the Oxford Business Group, Algeria’s IT sector is about to enter a challenging period because of reduced government spending and the impact of COVID-19.

But it remained optimistic regarding the fate of the industry.

“Despite the impact this is likely to have, industry figures say that the sector’s long-term development prospects are bright,” the report stated. “Sector development will improve efficiencies and reduce costs within other industries, making the country as a whole more competitive. Despite budgetary constraints, ICT is likely to remain a strategic priority in years to come, as the government seeks to capitalise on the sector’s high potential in line with its efforts to diversify the country’s economic base.”