HP today announced it has expanded its operations in Africa by establishing new entities in 10 of the continent’s fast-growing economies.
By extendingnaccess to its portfolio of hardware, software and services across Africa, HPnwill enable governments, businesses and consumers there to use informationntechnologies to improve how they work and live.
This month, HPnannounced openings in Angola, Botswana, Congo, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania andnUganda. The company expects to announce the opening of offices in Ethiopia,nMauritius and Mozambique by the end of the year. HP also appointed a newncountry manager in each country to lead local operations.
The expansionnis part of HP’s recently announced strategy for accelerating growth in the world’snfastest-growing markets by creating specialized go-to-market strategies,ntechnology solutions, and customer, partner and public sector relationshipsnthat meet the unique needs of rapidly developing markets. The new Africannoffices add to HP’s existing operations in Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco,nNigeria, South Africa and Tunisia. HP first opened operations in Africa inn1994.
Businessncustomers across Africa will now have better access to HP’s broad portfolio ofnproducts and services, allowing them to transform their businesses through thenimplementation of secure, cloud-based systems. Governments can use HPntechnology to drive economic growth by modernising the delivery of services innkey areas such as education, healthcare and e-Government services. HP alsonintends to broaden access to its consumer printers and PCs in these markets.
“HP’s expansionnin Africa will support the development of a strong information technologynindustry, which will underpin sustainable economic growth, helping to createnemployment, stability and life-changing opportunities across the continent,”nsaid Brian Humphries, senior vice president, Growth Markets Organisation, HP.n“HP’s unmatched portfolio of products and services positions it to become thenleading IT provider in Africa and an important contributor to the growth innthis region.”
Recognising thenimportance of engaging multiple stakeholders to contribute to the long-termnsuccess of Africa’s IT industry, HP is investing in a series of collaborationsnand initiatives with governments, universities and local communities to achieventhe shared goal of driving responsible, sustainable growth.
Collaborationnwith universities
HP has signednMemorandums of Understanding with leading universities in the expansionncountries, aimed at preparing local university students with the skills andnexperience required for a career in the IT industry. The agreements call fornthe creation of HP internships and post-graduate job opportunities fornuniversity students, and the creation of curricula to educate students about HPnsolutions and sales techniques.
Thencollaboration between HP and Africa’s top universities is designed to fosternthe development of a local workforce that has the right skills to lead Africa’snburgeoning IT industry in the future.
Innovationnin African education
HP has creatednan Educational Experience Centre for Africa in Casablanca, Morocco, to showcasenhow the latest technology can enhance the education experience. Thisnfacility is among the first of its kind in Africa, and the only such HPnfacility in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
The centre isnopen for government officials, educators and students of any level from acrossnAfrica to see firsthand how technology can support and improve teaching methodsnand enhance interactive learning to boost the productivity of Africa’sneducation sector. The inauguration of the center is scheduled for next month.
Extendingnsocial innovation programs
HP has built onnits social innovation strategy in Africa, which seeks to deploy cloud-based andnmobile technologies through collaboration with non-governmental organisationsn(NGOs) to reduce poverty, improve healthcare, and connect disparate communitiesnand groups. The strategy has already supported significant work in Africa, suchnas a relationship with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to improveninfant HIV testing in Kenya, and a collaboration with mothers2mothers innsupport of its mission of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
HP is extendingnNGO relationships in five of the countries where new offices have opened:
— InnBotswana, HP is collaborating with Positive Innovation for the Next Generationnand CHAI to expand the malaria pilot disease surveillance program to otherninfectious diseases as designated by the Ministry of Health. The program, firstnintroduced in June 2011, mitigates disease outbreaks throughna mobile/cloud disease surveillance solution.
— InnSenegal, HP and Tostan are deploying a technology platform to help bringneducation to adults and adolescents who are without access to formal schooling.
— InnUganda, HP is working with CHAI to expand the HIV Early Infant DiagnosisnProgram, which was first launched in Kenya in November 2010.
— InnTanzania, HP is working with SafePoint Trust to implement a safe injectionsnprogram and monitor results
— InnMozambique, HP and Mozambique Development in Motion are establishing a computernlab in a rural secondary school.
— InnGhana, HP and mPedigree have deployed a drug authentication system that allows consumers to verify thatnmedications they purchase are not counterfeit.
Moreninformation about HP’s Social Innovation projects can be found at www.hp.com/go/social-innovation.
Protectingnconsumers and the local economy
HP is extendingnits program to fight counterfeit products to the 10 expansion countries. Thencompany will work with local law enforcement authorities to fight thenavailability of counterfeit products, which defraud customers, pose potential risks to consumers and bringnnegative economic impacts to the local economy.
Having alreadynassisted authorities in seizing more than 30 million counterfeit products andncomponents worldwide in the last four years, HP has recently supported seizuresnof counterfeit products in Ghana, South Africa and Tanzania. HP willnshare its best practices to help law enforcement authorities identify and seizencounterfeit products, cut off routes of distribution and prosecute fraudsters.nHP also will actively educate its customers and partners to be vigilant againstnfake printing supplies.
Developingnsustainable e-waste systems
The lack of annoverall sustainable e-waste management infrastructure in most African countriesnmeans that unsafe dismantling and recycling of used equipment pose seriousnthreats to workers’ health and the environment. As part of HP’s commitmentnto a responsible, sustainable growth strategy in Africa, the company willncontinue to drive programs to address this issue in a manner that attends tonlocal conditions and provides jobs and training while ensuring highnenvironmental and health and safety standards are met.
In the firstnhalf of 2011, HP and Carmara Education opened the East African ComputernRecycling (EACR) in Kenya, the first IT e-waste recycling facility on thencontinent outside of South Africa.
HP’s strategynfor e-waste in Africa also includes programs such as educating workers handlingnwaste electronic equipment in Nigeria, supporting feasibility studies to definenlocal recycling schemes in Morocco, and contributing to the development of thenSouth African e-waste recycling industry through the deployment of globallynaccepted standards. HP has provided free IT hardware recycling for customers innSouth Africa since 2008 and this year the service was introduced in Kenya.
* FollownGadget on Twitter on @gadgetza
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