Offshore teams in Egypt
Software developers in Egypt: an embedded team or an outsourcing agency?
Companies that work with developers in Egypt usually choose between an outsourcing agency that delivers a project and embedded developers who join their own team. How the two differ in control, knowledge and management, and how to choose.
By GrowAxis team · · 2 min read
An outsourcing agency in Egypt takes a defined project and delivers it with its own team, process and tools. Embedded developers join your product team instead: your repository, your sprints, your code reviews, while a partner handles their employment, equipment and HR. Choose the agency for a fixed, separable project; choose embedded developers when the work is ongoing and the knowledge has to stay in your product.
How the two models differ
- Who directs the work: the agency’s project manager, or your own tech lead.
- Where the code and the knowledge live: often split between the agency and you, or entirely in your repositories and documentation.
- How scope changes: a change request against a contract, or a reprioritised backlog.
- Who carries delivery risk: the agency, for agreed deliverables; you, with developers you direct.
- What happens at the end: a handover, or nothing to hand over because the work never left.
When an outsourcing agency fits
- A self-contained project with a clear specification, such as a marketing site or a prototype.
- No in-house tech lead to direct developers day to day.
- A fixed budget and a fixed date matter more than long-term ownership.
When embedded developers fit
- An ongoing product with a roadmap that keeps changing.
- A tech lead or CTO who can review code and set priorities.
- Knowledge of the codebase has to stay with the company.
- You want to grow from one developer to a small pod over time.
What to check either way
- 01Who will actually write the code, and can you meet them first?
- 02Working hours: Cairo is one hour ahead of Central Europe and two hours ahead of the UK for most of the year.
- 03Who owns the code and the intellectual property, in writing.
- 04Security: managed devices, access by least privilege, two-factor login.
- 05How you will see progress: pull requests, demos and reports.
How GrowAxis helps
GrowAxis embedded teams include software developers and engineering pods based in Egypt who join your product team, repositories and sprints. GrowAxis employs and equips them and handles payroll, HR, performance reviews and reporting; your team directs the work. For the first weeks, see our guide to onboarding an offshore developer.