In a press conference today, SAP announced its commitment to the Ivory Coast and environs as part of its Africa expansion strategy. In addition, SAP will be implementing skills development and employability programmes as part of its involvement in the country's development. In partnership with the government and other stakeholders, SAP will be supporting the country's 2020 objective to implement transformational e-government services, as an integral and crucial enabler for innovation and development.

According to a recent World Bank Report on the transformational use of ICT in Africa, Africa has the fastest growing mobile adoption rate in the world, making the mobile phone value far higher in Africa than anywhere else. Despite the political instability and civil unrest experienced in the Ivory Coast between 1999 and 2011, its ICT sector has seen continual growth and profitability. The country was one of the first in sub-Saharan Africa to gain full internet access and mobile telephony currently has a 80% penetration rate and a subscriber base of 18 million. The country saw a compound annual growth rate of 48.6% in mobile subscriptions between 2005 and 2011.

This high mobile penetration rate lays a promising foundation for the region to leapfrog straight to state-of-the-art technology, helping enable the economy for further growth and development.

"The ICT sector has proven to be a strong driver of GDP growth in nations across the world and has been a significant contributor to these nation's economies by making them more attractive to global firms interested in investment and expansion and through the advancement of its own people's skills ," said Franck Cohen, president of SAP EMEA.

"With undersea sea cables improving internet connections for the Ivory Coast, excellent connectivity with the rest of the world is imminent and will result in meaningful developments in more effective communication, networking and education ultimately contributing towards national growth and development. Imperative to the successful adoption of new technologies is cloud computing, SAP is currently in discussion with key players in the Ivory Coast to develop partnerships to provide cloud hosted SME solutions to data centres," adds Pfungwa Serima, CEO of SAP Africa.

Editorial contacts
Antonia Stafford Ashton
+27 (21) 528 1700
antonia.ashton@sap.com

Keshia Govindsamy
+27 (11) 709 9645
Keshia.govindsamy@ogilvypr.co.za

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