The CRT monitor repair shop I toured there was not shiny. It was not particularly well lit. But it created jobs for 22 young Egyptians under the age of 30, who tested and repaired and refurbished computers for sale in the technology malls. Some of their computers they sold were to hospitals and medical students. Some, no doubt, are in use posting news on Twitter and Facebook.
The techs in these photos taught me a lot about computer repair SLIDE SHOW On the visit with my family, I brought two non-working laptops, which my own techs said had bad capacitors. I sat with my colleague in his shop as he sent the laptops to the backroom. An hour later, the tech returned with both laptops repaired; one I used on the trip, and I gave the other to my host. I was not Henry Higgins, I was Eliza Dolittle.
Egypt is one of the largest 3B3K markets (part of the 3 billion people who earn about $3,000 per year). It has tremendous capacity to become a nation of tinkerers, like Japan, and to become the strongest and most developed democracy in Africa. I experienced a lot of laughter in Cairo.
