IBM announced on Monday evening that it would be opening a new branch in Uganda in an effort to continue to push forward on African expansion as part of its global strategy. IBM has offices in more than 20 African countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco and Kenya, but believes that expanding to blossoming markets is vital to the company's continued success. “Expanding into Angola offers IBM an important business opportunity as we expand our presence throughout the African continent,” said Bruno Di Leo, General Manager, IBM Growth Markets, in a press statement. “This demonstrates IBM's commitment to expand into new markets to provide innovative solutions for our clients and partners. Luanda is one of more than 230 IBM branch offices across 55 growth market countries.” IBM is also engaged in an active program of corporate citizenship across Africa. Since 2008, IBM has deployed 250 of its most talented employees on projects in Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Morocco and Egypt helping to solve local problems with the aim of fostering economic development and job creation. “By opening a direct presence in Angola and many other markets on the African continent, IBM overcomes one of the biggest barriers to entry in Africa, namely being able to offer local support and insights to their clients and business partners,” said Hannes Fourie, Senior Analyst IDC, Middle East and Africa. Analysts in Angola are uncertain of the impact the new office will have, arguing that unless a number of new initiatives are launched, it will likely not make a large imprint. “We already have computer technology moving forward and IBM has a large role in the country, so right now, unless they do boost their push into local areas, it likely won't make much of a difference,” said Jose Margueles, an Angolan independent web designer and researcher. BM
