HOME Toshiba strengthens African presence
Toshiba has signalled its growth ambitions in Africa, establishing a branch office in Johannesburg. Notebook vendor Toshiba’s latest point of presence will service the South African Development Community (SADC) as well as Central and West Africa regions. Toshiba has also extended the remit of its Middle East operation to include East Africa. The moves form part of Toshiba’s plan to sustain and strengthen its growth in emerging markets.
Read full story
IDC offers third quarter MEA PC market insight
The numbercrunchers at IDC reckon that third quarter 2012 PC shipments into the Middle East and Africa (MEA) market were down 1.9% year-on-year at 4.9 million units. Increased cannibalisation of the PC market by tablet demand coupled with consumers opting to wait for the launch of Windows 8 were both cited as reasons for the slowdown.
Read full story
Ingram Micro has completed its purchase of Dubai-based distributor Aptec. Ingram Micro has drafted in Philip Cheok from its Asia Pacific operation to serve as CFO of its newly acquired Middle East, Africa and Near East operation. Aptec announced the completion of its purchase by Ingram Micro during the GITEX trade show in Dubai.
Read full story
New Lenovo roles for Ebel and Lee
Hardware giant Lenovo’s Middle East and Africa (MEA) operation is now headed up by Oliver Ebel, who took on the role at the beginning of October, replacing former regional boss Jack Lee. Ebel is now executive director and general manager for MEA having previously served as regional boss for Eastern Europe and Turkey. Lee is relocating to Hong Kong where he will serve as corporate VP and manager of Lenovo Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.
Read full story
Mortazavi named VP MEA at Acer
Hardware vendor Acer has turned to Amin Mortazavi to realise its ambitions in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. In his new role as VP MEA at Acer, Mortazavi will report directly to Oliver Ahrens, president at Acer EMEA. Acer claims that Mortazavi’s appointment underlines the company’s focus on emerging markets, which are viewed as strategic to the vendor’s success.
Read full story
DISTREE EMEA launches new content tracks for 2013 event
DISTREE EMEA 2013 will take place from February 19-22nd at the Fairmont Hotel in Monaco. Now entering its 11th year, the event will gather more than 1,000 senior channel executives from 75 countries across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. More than 130 manufacturers are set to attend DISTREE EMEA 2013, meeting the leading retailers and distributors of volume ICT, telecoms and consumer electronics (CE) products.
Read full story
Esquire plans tablets for kids
South African distributor Esquire has announced plans to launch an entry-level tablet PC designed specifically for children. The Geeko Kids tablet is expected to retail for less than US$185. Esquire launched its Geeko range of tablet PCs in June 2012 and has already sold more than 2,500 units. Asgar Mahomed, managing director of Esquire claims that the decision to launch a tablet range ‘specifically aimed at kids’ comes after a number of requests from resellers.
Read full story
Kaspersky calls on Comztek in Namibia
Security software vendor Kaspersky has confirmed the appointment of Comztek as an official distribution partner in Namibia. The agreement follows on from a wider Africa distribution deal signed between the two companies earlier this year allowing Comztek to push Kaspersky products to its 2,000-plus African reseller base.
Read full story
Esquire to expand headquarters
South African IT and accessories distributor Esquire has announced plans to spend US$4.7m expanding its headquarters in Midrand, Johannesburg, taking the total size of the complex to more than 8,000 square meters comprising offices and warehouse space.
Read full story
Mitsumi targets African growth potential
African distributor Mitsumi will participate at the Gitex 2012 trade show this October to showcase its channel credentials. Africa’s fast growing ICT market is receiving increased attention from vendors looking to capitalise on the region’s strong growth potential. Mitsumi’s vendor portfolio includes HP, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo, Samsung, Microsoft, BenQ and TrippLite.
Read full story
