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NEC Africa w w w . z a . n e c . c o m
The p power ower of
communi NEC Africa is a driving force behind Africa’s continuing IT development. We spoke to Eugene le Roux, president and managing director, about some of NEC Africa’s recent operations and their plans for 2016.
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ITC
c at i o n T he NEC Corporation, a Japanese multinational provider of information technology and one the world’s pioneers in mobile phone technology, started trading in Africa in 1962. There were a few branch and liaison offices dotted about the continent but it wasn’t until 2011 that NEC Africa was born. Now based in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya NEC Africa is making large gains in Africa’s IT industry, providing solutions in networking infrastructure, data storage and cloud, safety and security, cyber security and alternative energy.
New partnerships
The biggest recent development for NEC Africa is its new partnership with XON, a company that designs, builds, operates, and manages information and communication technology solutions in subSaharan Africa. NEC Africa’s deal with XON is effective from the first of July, and promises to be quite the meeting of minds, as Eugene le Roux explains. “It’s a little bit more than just a strategic agreement. We actually took an equity share in each other, so that NEC Europe took a 25% equity share in XON… and in turn XON took a 49% share in NEC Africa, with a view to
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help us with BBBEE compliancy and also to help accelerate the synergies that we saw in our solutions and what they take into the market.” Le Roux makes it clear that not only do NEC Africa and XON see eye to eye when it comes to their business strategies, but also important are the ways in which the products they sell and develop complement each other in the market place. “So with this synergetic approach what we clearly saw is that we have various pieces of alignment with XON. We jointly have 7 business unit focusses that we offer the market and found synergies with NEC products and solutions in each of those”.
New ventures and branching out
NEC Africa has enjoyed impressive growth in recent years. When we asked about the company’s plans for 2016 le Roux explained that “since its inception NEC Africa has been growing in excess of 30-40% year on year until now and we want to continue that level of growth.” The synergies that NEC Africa is developing with XON promise exciting new ventures and diversifi cation in the coming year. Le
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Roux identifi ed cyber security as one of NEC Africa’s focusses, which is no surprise considering how much we’ve been hearing about this aspect of communication technology. It’s in the discussion of cyber security that we get some suggestion of how NEC Africa is influencing the whole continent. Le Roux explains that he sees “a big potential in what we’ll do around the Security Operations Centre. We’re going to be investing in creating an SOC in South Africa, which will provide security solutions to enterprises and governments across Africa. This is off the back of our deal which we’ve recently closed with Rwanda for cyber security, in which we provided the interlink for Rwanda into Interpol cyber security systems.” NEC Africa’s operations then are not just allowing them to increase their share of the market. In fact they’re helping the infrastructure of Africa and the continent’s
level of IT connection, within itself and with the rest of the world. Le Roux also suggests another example of NEC’s investment in infrastructure, saying that “from an infrastructure development side we’ll look into… power requirements, and we expect that our package solutions now should find a lot of traction within the next year.” Domestic safety and security systems are another area hinted at by le Roux, which goes to show NEC Africa’s increasing reach into various markets. 2016 is a particularly important year for NEC Africa, as it marks the beginning of another three year budget planning cycle and a chance for the company to diversify the solutions they offer the market in comparison with previous years. Continuing to involve themselves in Africa’s development by sponsoring events like AfricaCom, as well as their investment in the actual infrastructure that will shape Africa’s future, will help with the workforce that NEC Africa must recruit from as well as the company’s visibility. This strategy, as well as making the most of the exciting synergetic relationship started with XON, means that NEC Africa are very likely to achieve their aims for the new year.
What we clearly saw is that we have various pieces of alignment with XON
email: production@essentialbusinessmag.com
NEC Africa (Pty) Ltd Block B, 82 Roan Crescent, Corporate Park North, Midrand, 1685, South Africa Telephone: +27 (0) 11 656-3416
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www.essentialbusinessmag.com ŠEssential Business Magazine 2015