IBM Expands Nigerian Operations

International Business Machine (IBM) has announced that it is expanding its operations in Nigeria to capture growth in the West African region.
By doing this, the company said it will increase its ability to support its clients, business partners, and government organizations so that they can become more efficient, more productive and provide better quality services to citizens.
According to Mark Harris, general manager, IBM Sub-Saharan Africa, ‘the Sub-Saharan African market, including West Africa, is poised for continued growth flowing from the development and expansion of telecommunications networks, power grids and transport infrastructure.’
“We are seeing continued private and public sector investment in the region, and IBM is well positioned to help create a smarter African economy to compete in the global marketplace.”
More so, IBM has launched the “Project Djembe” initiative across Sub-Saharan Africa, offering a secure desktop alternative for business, public and government clients; helping them leapfrog to the new 21st Century computing model, which offers customization, collaboration and new intelligence capabilities.
“IBM will provide skills development as well as extend business opportunities to aspiring business partners in the region, through Project Djembe. He also informed that the company was providing resources to build capability for the delivery of intelligent IT solutions and services in the West African region,” said Harris.
Harris stated that Nigeria has been nominated for the corporate services corps, and that IBM’s increased presence will support the country’s overall development agenda, to achieve greater competitiveness and economic growth.
IBM, having operated in Africa for nearly 60 years said it has invested over $120 million in the last two years as part of its strategy of focusing on the world’s growth markets. The investment includes a software solutions laboratory with cloud computing capability and a banking centre of excellence. The company has also donated a Blue Gene Supercomputer, which is located at Cape Town’s Centre for High Performance Computing, to be used for research by institutions across Sub-Saharan Africa.
IBM has also appointed Endy Chiakpo as the country general manager for the company in Nigeria and the entire West African region. Chiakpo who has a 20-year career stint with the company in Nigeria and U.S has developed experience across information technology solutions, addressing important government and business infrastructure challenges.
He was part of the team that fashioned the IBM Linux strategy in addition to the successfully commercialized IBM Blue Gene supercomputer.
Chiakpo however, has advised Nigerian Universities and other tertiary institutions of learning to invest in the supercomputer and leverage on it to achieve laudable goals in the area of research and development.