Kaspersky gets aggressive in Africa

By AGENCIES

SOFTWARE security group Kaspersky Lab will embark on an aggressive growth drive in Africa to strengthen its market position and the expected internet growth in the continent.

The Russian group has a presence in more than 30 countries in Africa, with South Africa being its biggest market.

Technology companies are increasingly turning to Africa and other emerging markets for new revenue streams, fuelled by potential opportunities offered by the region’s low internet penetration.

As more people in the continent are connected to the internet, they are likely to be vulnerable to cyber crime thus sparking the demand for anti-virus software and software security.

Kaspersky’s clients are also expanding on the continent, while some already have a footprint.

Garry Kondakov, the group’s chief of sales and marketing officer, said Africa was an important market for many companies but the company’s marketing approach differentiated it from its competitors.

Kaspersky was the leader in software security for consumers in South Africa, Kondakov said, but in terms of enterprise, Kaspersky was still lagging its competitors.

Kenya is the second biggest market after South Africa, with Nigeria set to be another key driver of revenues for the software company.

“We will be more aggressive in our marketing approach and we will even be more aggressive in Nigeria, where we already have a presence,” said Kondakov.

Kaspersky will add a local flavour to its marketing campaigns and strengthen its relationship with  its customers and its partners, such as resellers.

The company  will also provide training and technical support to its clients and resellers.

“The products we provide are the same everywhere but our marketing approach and relationship with partners makes are different. We localise our marketing and products,” he said.

Kaspersky might also partner with some of the continent’s mobile network operators to include the anti-virus software as part of the package.

Stefan Tenase, Kaspersky’s senior security researcher, said the common cyber crime in Africa was phishing but the rate of such activities was not as high as in markets where internet penetration was high and credit was available.

Mr Tenase, however, expected cyber crime activities to rise with increased internet penetration and as countries’ banking systems improve through the issuing of credit.

Kaspersky said the new consumer products launched this week will provide maximum protection for consumer devices against all kinds of threats.