Dr. Hisham Haddara

Hisham Haddara is the founder of Si-Ware Systems (SWS), a leading fabless semiconductor company in Egypt. Prior to founding SWS in December 2003, he was with MEMScAP from May 2000 as EVP and President of MEMSCAP Egypt and was co-founder and first GM of ANACAD Egypt in 1994. By the end of 1994, ANACAD was acquired by Mentor Graphics Corporation (MGC) where he worked till May 2000 as GM of Mentor Graphics Egypt.

Hisham has been a professor of microelectronics at Ain-Shams University, Cairo till 2016. He has authored and co-authored two books, several patents and more than 100 scientific publications in International Journals and Conferences. He received his Ph.D. degree in Microelectronics from the National Polytechnic Institute, Grenoble, France in 1988. His Ph.D. research work won the best Ph.D. thesis award for the years 1987-88, awarded by the French National Scientific Research Center (CNRS).

Hisham is the founding chairman of the GSA-Egypt chapter and board member of EITESAL, (Egyptian Information, Telecommunications, Electronics & Software Alliance), the biggest technology NGO in Egypt. He is also a board member of the IT Industry Development Agency, ITIDA.

Hisham is currently leading a team to develop a national strategy for the semiconductors industry in Egypt under the umbrella of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

Hisham serves as advisor to the Minister of Scientific Research on innovation and heads a team to develop a national innovation policy for Egypt. He has been an expert on innovation with the ESCWA UN organization and is currently enrolled in the MIT REAP program at the MIT Sloan school of management as part of a national team to accelerate the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cairo.

He currently serves on the board of directors of the National Science, Technology & Innovation Funding Authority and the board of and Zewail City for Science and Technology. He has also served as a member of the steering committee of Egypt-Japan University for Science and Technology as well as a member of the Engineering Education committee of the Supreme Council for Universities.

Hisham is chairman of the board and co-founder of Si-Ware Systems, Pearl Semi and Fab-Minds.

Challenges and Opportunities of the Semiconductors Industry in the MENA Region: An Egyptian Perspective

The semiconductors industry global supply chain is undergoing major transformations due to several recent and current events such as the COVID pandemic, the US-China technology trade war, and the Ukrainian war. As a result, several important dynamics have emerged and may prove highly valuable in enabling countries of the MENA region to put themselves on the map of this industry if such countries manage to act fast and smart. Indeed, the world is moving from a globalization model that has prevailed for decades to a model where manufacturing is more regional and distributed. Many players are starting to establish regional manufacturing facilities in contrast to depending on the Far East and specifically China as the World’s major manufacturer of electronics. This is driven by geopolitical reasons as well as security of supply chain and avoiding its disruption as has been the case in recent years. In addition, one important reason to move manufacturing facilities to regions closer to big markets is to minimize the cost of transportation and its negative impact on the environment. On the design side, many global players are looking for talent around the world to augment their resources and their ability to develop and produce new products in time. Such global companies will establish Offshore Design Centers (ODCs) wherever they find critical mass of talent that they can tap into.

Egypt has made significant strides in developing its semiconductor industry in the last two decades and this has been recognized by the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) by launching a local Chapter of the GSA in Egypt in June 2022. This talk will present the Egyptian semiconductor ecosystem, how this industry emerged in Egypt and its strategy for the future. The talk will also present a holistic approach for accelerating the development of this industry in the whole MENA region in an integrative and collaborative manner.

Also a panelist for the:

• ISES ME Day 1 Panel Discussion: “Semiconductor Leaders – Mindset of Creating a Global Leading Semiconductor Organisation”
• ISES ME Day 2 Panel Discussion: “History and Future of the Semiconductor Industry in the MENA Region: A Benchmark From the Semi Ecosystem in Egypt”