Lenovo wants to lead Africa

Lenovo Africa’s General Manager, GRAHAM BRAUM recently met with government and private organisations from across Africa in an effort to reinforce the company’s commitment and to outline its business and PC strategy in the continent.

Chinese-based computer and mobile device manufacturer Lenovo is aiming to be the leading PC supplier to Africa.

Graham Braum, the Lenovo Africa general manager based in Johannesburg, recently led a delegation to meet representatives from government, private organizations and business partners in Namibia, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. The aim of the trip: ‚”to reinforce Lenovo’s commitment to Africa and outline the company’s business and PC+ strategy in the continent‚”.

The global corporation recently secured the number two position in the market among PC manufacturers worldwide, and has now also taken the number two position in the Europe, Middle east and Africa PC market. Its growth has been fueled largely by the company’s growth and success in Russia, Germany, Denmark and Lebanon, where the company is ranked number one.

With the planned expansion in Africa, says Braum, the manufacturer aims for the number one spot on this continent.

‚”The African continent is one of Lenovo’s key growth markets and this Africa roadshow re-affirms our commitment to customers and partners in Africa,‚” says Braum. ‚”The ICT sector is continuously developing in Africa and technology plays a key role in the development and economic growth of countries: that is why, it is important for Lenovo to bring innovative smart connected devices to Africa to empower businesses and consumers. This further complements our mission to become the leader in PC+, by addressing the increasing demand to stay connected on different devices.‚”

‚”Expanding our operations across Africa is in line with our global ‚’Protect and Attack’ strategy where we attack areas of greatest potential and protect areas where we have a strong lead. It has laid a solid foundation to make Lenovo number one in the PC industry and a leading global personal technology company in the PC+ age.‚”

During the Africa roadshow, Lenovo launched the Lenovo Partner Network program, designed to skill-up channel partners and strengthen relations across the Middle East and Africa. The introduction of the program provides existing and new partners with in-depth knowledge and tools to enhance their relationship with Lenovo, including access to a free online resource and a loyalty reward scheme.

‚”Our channel partners are fundamental to the success of our business as we strive towards becoming the number one PC manufacturer in the world,‚” he says. ‚”The channel is our primary route to both the enterprise and consumer market and it is important that our partners understand Lenovo products and capabilities. Our partner relationships are the crux of our success both globally and in Africa: we invest heavily in this relationship and ensure our product portfolio and program is designed to enable our partners’ success.‚”

The Lenovo team also showcased the latest ‚’THINK’ and ‚’Idea’ innovations, designed to empower small and medium businesses (SMBs), enterprises and consumers in Africa and introduced Lenovo’s range of award-winning devices such as the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, the Lenovo Yoga and the ThinkPad Twist, Thinkpad Helix and ThinkPad Tablet 2.

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is Lenovo’s premier Ultrabook, weighs less than three pound and packs a high resolution 14-inch display into a 13-inch laptop design. While incredibly light thanks to its carbon fiber construction, it retains ThinkPad’s renowned durability for use in practically any environment. The X1 Carbon provides eight hours of battery life and industry-best charge times with Lenovo RapidCharge technology. Equipped with optional 3G mobile broadband and hotspot technology, users can stay connected virtually anywhere, anytime. The X1 Carbon also includes a multi-gesture glass surface touchpad, HD face-tracking camera, dual array microphones and Dolby-tuned audio for crisp and clear sound.

The Thinkpad Twist and Thinkpad Helix are both high-functioning convertible machines which can act as both tablets and laptops. This distinct design affords users the versatility they need to adapt to any situation, whether in the office or out in the field.

The newly released Thinkpad Tablet 2, designed for Windows 8 and powered by Intel’s next generation CPU technology, extends the benefit of Lenovo’s convertible technology, allowing users to work the way they want with multi-finger touch support, pen input and an attachable keyboard and dock for a more PC-like computing experience.

As small businesses are forming the basis of Africa’s economic growth, all products include dedicated software tools specifically designed for small businesses, which includes Lenovo Solutions for Small Business powered by Intel Small Business Advantage and Lenovo Cloud Storage by Sugar Sync.

In addition, Lenovo has invested extensively in its MiDH (Mobile Internet and Digital Home) division, with tablet and smartphone being an extremely important part of Lenovo’s PC+ strategy. Lenovo will continue to differentiate via innovation to drive convergence across multiple devices to enhance user experience with these products, and will continue to evaluate the Africa continent on when and in what scale to market.

*