How does software engineering in Europe or the USA defer from the work we do in the Middle East and North Africa region? What are some of the biggest challenges preventing the Middle East and North Africa from becoming technology hubs? What’s the caliber of the talent available in the region? Can it compete internationally? I discussed these questions and more with Ahmad Alfy, CTO of Robusta Studio, who we all respect and love. I could spend hours chatting with Ahmad, and I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did producing it. ▬▬▬▬▬▬ Resources & References 📕 ▬▬▬▬▬▬ 🎙️Audio only version of this episode: https://glich.stream/podcast ▬▬▬▬▬▬ Chapters 🕐 ▬▬▬▬▬▬ 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:29 - How did you start your journey in tech? 00:10:47 - Has your background in medicine cross paths with your career in tech? 00:13:07 - Why did you specialise in front-end web development & accessibility? 00:19:02 - The importance of web accessibility 00:23:26 - Web performance and its impact on developing countries 00:25:58 - The tech sector in Egypt is booming with talent 00:33:19 - Content curation is an important problem to solve 00:35:35 - How does the tech sector look like in Egypt? 00:40:49 - What's preventing our region from becoming a technology hub? 00:51:49 - What are the skills that are lacking in the talent of our region? 01:00:16 - Why does our talent want to immigrate to western countries? 01:05:47 - Contrasting the middle east vs the west 01:12:07 - Last thoughts from Ahmad ▬▬▬▬▬▬ Connect with me 👋 ▬▬▬▬▬▬ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/bassemdy - GitHub: https://github.com/link- - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bassemdghaidy - Blog: https://blog.bassemdy.com/ - Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/glich_stream ▬▬▬▬▬▬ Support the channel 💜 ▬▬▬▬▬▬ Every little bit helps ✨ - Join the journey on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/glich_stream - 1 time support: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/glich.stream #glichstream #softwareengineering