The Egyptian Mortgage Finance Authority (EMFA) won the "Excellence in Government Performance" award for its new online portal, a centralised information repository that connects mortgage finance communities across the country and provides the public with finance information, news, and contacts.

The portal was implemented by ITWorx, Egypt’s largest software professional services firm, which has extensive experience in developing e-government portals and web solutions.

Mortgage financing in Egypt is expected to double by 2009 as it catches up with the country's booming property market. In fact, after years of underperformance, the mortgage finance industry is now enjoying a direct relationship with real-estate, constituting up to 8% of the country’s GDP. There are seven mortgage brokerage companies and 14 banks supplying the market.

Given the government’s recent efforts to boost economic reforms in Egypt, the EMFA needed to automate its services and create public awareness for it activities. ITWorx designed and implemented an online portal which provides content/information on laws, legislations, resolutions, and mortgage packages, with workflow cycles for several online services such as company license requests, registration of mortgage brokers, appraisers, auditors, and agents, and issuance/renewal of licenses.

Hafez Hamdy, Marketing Director for ITWorx, said: "We recognize that government bodies in Egypt are undergoing major processes of re-constructing and updating their existing business methods. By working in partnership with them, we are adopting innovative approaches to address specific challenges through the optimal use of cutting-edge technologies, thereby developing customer-centric solutions that will reap the highest return on their investment."