SAP looks to further African expansion

BUSINESS

SAP plans to expand its African presence with a stronger presence in Cote d’Ivoire and Angola within the year.

SAP Africa CEO Pfungwa Serima said at the SAP Africa Partner Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa, tonight that Africa was a hotbed of innovation, and that SAP was steadily increasing its business across the continent.

Serima emphasized the importance of SAP’s partners across the continent, saying as the company grows, it relies heavily on its partners’ deep understanding of the regions they operate in.

“Many companies have this fear of Africa,” he said. But there is immense potential for those companies that understand the varied markets across the continent, Serima noted.

"We are serious about the continent," he said.

Also speaking at the event, Desmond Nair, Head of Ecosystems and Channels for SAP Africa, said SAP would launch a new cloud solution targeted at small and medium enterprises in Africa before the end of the year.

Nair said SAP had seen steady growth in its revenue from Africa, with 55 new partners and 80% coverage across the continent. In 1H 2012 the company saw 206% revenue growth in Africa.

Its top priorities for growth in its Ecosystem and Channels this year, he said, would include acceleration, expansion and specialisation of route to market across all regions; and co-innovation with its ecosystem.

SAP Africa Partner Awards were presented to:

Applications VAR Partner of the Year: Enterprise Information Management Solutions

Analytics VAR Partner of the Year: Enterprise Information Management Solutions

Business One VAR Partner of the Year: Bluekey Software Solutions

VAR Rookie of the Year: Sincura Business Solutions

Global System Integrator of the Year: Accenture

Local System Integrator of the Year: EOH Mthombo

Technology Partner of the Year: HP

Solution Partner of the Year: UCS Solutions

Sales Person of the Year: Mike Hartman

French Africa Managing Director of the Year: GSIE Technology

West Africa Managing Director of the Year:C2G Consulting

East Africa Managing Director of the Year: Indra

SADC Managing Director of the Year: EOH Mthombo