profile

Country Snapshot: Egypt

When I first started researching the Internet characteristics of Egypt at the excellent resource site www.internetworldstats.com, I automatically went to the section headed "Middle East" expecting to find it listed there, but I could not find it. Instead, it was listed under Africa. You live, you learn.

Egypt has roughly the same population as Germany, at just over 81 million people, of which about 10 percent have access to the Internet at this time.

Of all the world's countries, we used to enjoy the highest Alexa ranking in Egypt, due largely to the fact that credit card penetration remains negligible there, at approximately three percent of the population.

Upon after having just rechecked our status, however, it would appear that the Czech Republic (278), Slovakia (535) and Thailand (1,135) have overtaken Egypt (2,521) in said rankings at this time.

As with most of the countries in this region, cash remains a popular method of payment and the use of credit cards and other forms of electronic payment is limited.

Clearly, since cash is wholly unsuitable for paying for services over the web, the telephone is the next best thing; with Egypt enjoying coverage rates of well above 90 percent.

Cell phone technology has enabled countries such as Egypt to bypass the messy infrastructure and expensive start-up costs of setting up fixed-line systems. As a result, wireless technology is reaching isolated rural areas where fixed lines were never able to penetrate.

Thanks to our new voice dialer, surfers from there are now in a position to pay you on a per-minute basis. This should be deployed in tandem with our PbP "classic" product, so that you can continue to make money from those surfers that still use dial-up to access the Internet and do not have the luxury of broadband or a second phone line.

Another point worth noting is that gay traffic seems to convert particularly well from there. We attribute this to the fact that homosexuality cannot be freely expressed there, so gays have little choice other than to go online to satiate their carnal desires.

Finally, when pitching to Egyptians, remember to communicate with them in their own native language of Arabic. Your phone processor should be able to provide you with all the tools necessary to do this — if not, you should consider changing to one that does.

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

opinion

Unpacking the Payment Card Industry's Latest Data Security Standard

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements and guidelines that apply to all businesses that accept credit card payments, and is designed to ensure the security of those transactions.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

Compliance With State Age Verification Laws

During the past year, website operators have faced a slew of new state age verification laws entailing a variety of inconsistent compliance obligations.

Lawrence Walters ·
opinion

Merchants in Spotlight With Visa's VIRP

By now, most merchants know about the Visa Integrity Risk Program (VIRP) rolled out in spring 2023. The program is designed to ensure that acquirers and their designated agents — payment facilitators, independent sales organizations and wallets — maintain proper controls and oversight to prevent illegal transactions from entering the Visa payment system.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

How to Know When Hosting Upgrades Are Really Needed

I was reminded about an annoyingly common experience that often frustrates website owners: upgrades. Sometimes, an upgrade of physical system resources like CPU, RAM or storage really is required to solve a problem or improve performance… but how do you know you’re not just being upsold?

Brad Mitchell ·
profile

WIA Profile: Natasha Inamorata

Natasha Inamorata was just a kid when she first picked up a disposable camera. She quickly became enamored with it and continued to shoot with whatever equipment she could afford. In her teens, she saved enough money to purchase a digital Canon ELPH, began taking portraits of her friends, shot an entire wedding on a point-and-shoot camera and edited the photos with Picnik.

Women in Adult ·
trends

Collab Nation: Top Creators Share Best Practices for Fruitful Co-Shoots

One of the fastest ways for creators to gain new subscribers and buyers, not to mention monetize their existing fan base, is to collaborate with other creators. The extra star power can multiply potential earnings, broaden brand reach and boost a creator’s reputation in the community.

Alejandro Freixes ·
opinion

Bridging Generational Divides in Payment Preferences

While Baby Boomers and Gen Xers tend to be most comfortable with the traditional payment methods to which they are accustomed, like cash and credit cards, the younger cohorts — Millennials and Gen Z — have veered sharply toward digital-first payment solutions.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

Legal and Business Safety for Creators at Trade Shows

As I write this, I am preparing to attend XBIZ Miami, which reminds me of attending my first trade show 20 years ago. Since then, I have met thousands of people from all over the world who were doing business — or seeking to do business — in the adult industry.

Corey D. Silverstein ·
opinion

Adding AI to Your Company's Tech Toolbox

Artificial intelligence is all the rage. Not only is AI all over the headlines, it is also top of mind for many company leadership teams, who find themselves asking, “How can this new tool help our company?”

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

The Ins and Outs of IP Addresses: What Website Owners Should Know

Think about your home address, the place you live. It is unique. That’s important because when you decide to invite someone over, they will need directions to find you. It’s even more important if you want a lot of visitors.

Brad Mitchell ·
Show More