Egypt YP Goes Mobile

The Egypt Yellow Pages, operated by Dubai-based Al Wahda Express LLC, has launched an online/mobile mapping service. According to the announcement, users will be able to view local businesses on their mobile phones in either satellite or map view.

We believe mobile search will be a critical usage channel overall in the coming years, but even more so in developing markets, where print remains a small niche, Internet penetration is low, and mobile phones far outnumber landlines. Egypt is a nation of 82 million people, with 31 million mobile phones, 11.2 million landlines and just 8.6 million Internet users. In markets with characteristics like these, we expect to see a lot of energy and investment in mobile directory services.