BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY MEDIA FOR AFRICA

Qualcomm opens E Africa head office

Qualcomm opens E Africa head office
Gareth van Zyl
By Gareth van Zyl, Editor, ITWeb Africa
15 Feb 2012

The world`s biggest mobile phone chipmaker, Qualcomm, announced yesterday that Nairobi, Kenya, is now home to its East Africa regional head office.

The office, which is already operational, is there to support Qualcomm`s partners, operators, device manufacturers, network operators, retailers, distributors and mobile application developers in that region.

Qualcomm says the hub will at first conduct these business operations for Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda; but that, at a later date, its Nairobi base will serve the whole of Central Africa as well.

The company`s move to establish a regional footing in the Kenyan capital comes at a time when Africa has become the world`s fastest-growing mobile market, according to industry group Groupe Speciale Mobile Association.

Demand for mobile phone processors that power smartphones is also predicted to soar in Africa as the number of 3G subscribers on the continent is forecast to grow by 636%, between 2010 and 2015, says Billy Owino, Qualcomm`s director of business development in East Africa.

Owino, a native Kenyan, has moved from his previous posting as Qualcomm`s director of business development in Johannesburg to Nairobi, to head up the mobile chipmaker`s operations there.

Business has been booming for Qualcomm as its profits have soared thanks to strong global demand for smartphones.

Its share price on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month hit a 12-month high of $60.73, as the company at the end of last year reported a profit $1.395 billion, higher than its end-of-2010 profit of $1.17 billion.

Share

Read more



ITWeb proudly displays the “FAIR” stamp of the Press Council of South Africa, indicating our commitment to adhere to the Code of Ethics for Print and online media which prescribes that our reportage is truthful, accurate and fair. Should you wish to lodge a complaint about our news coverage, please lodge a complaint on the Press Council’s website, www.presscouncil.org.za or email the complaint to enquiries@ombudsman.org.za. Contact the Press Council on 011 484 3612.
Copyright @ 1996 - 2025 ITWeb Limited. All rights reserved.