IBM Expands Presence in Africa with Branch Office in Mauritius

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- Increased presence helps strengthen international competitiveness of Indian Ocean Island

IBM (NYSE: IBM) has announced the expansion of its branch office in Port Louis on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean off the South East coast of Africa. The increased presence will strengthen IBM's ability to provide solutions and services to a rapidly expanding base of customers and partners in the region.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

Mauritius has a highly successful and competitive economy with some of the highest growth rates in Africa and an active international export market spanning a diverse range of sectors.

"As Mauritius strives to strengthen its international competitiveness, IBM is experiencing strong demand from the textile, banking, tourism, telecommunications and IT services sectors, which are turning to technology to increase productivity and differentiate offerings," said Takreem El Tohamy, IBM General Manager for Middle East and Africa.

IBM's Mauritius office is part of a broad program of investment that the company is making across Africa through the creation of new facilities, offices, training, staffing and recruitment, sales and marketing and corporate citizenship. The announcement follows the recent news of the opening of IBM's office in Luanda, Angola and gives the company a direct presence in over 20 African countries including South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.

"IBM has been present in Africa for over 60 years, but we are now taking our business to the next level in recognition of the huge potential of the African market and the role of smarter systems in transforming business, government and society across the continent," added Takreem El Tohamy.

One of IBM's clients on the island is global textile industry leader Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile Ltee (CMT) which has over 12000 employees and runs a 24-hour automated factory supplying the fashion markets across the USA and Europe. CMT needed a solution to increase efficiencies and ensure timely delivery of its clothing products which are often manufactured to meet fast turn-around orders. IBM provided CMT with a new data storage system which has led to a 20% increase in the performance of its operations.

"The new system from IBM has enabled us to better manage our supply chain and reduce downtime in order for us to remain a reliable international supplier of a vast array of clothing styles," said Ms. Doreen Wong, CIO of CMT.

International Card Processing Services (ICPS) of Mauritius is also using IBM solutions to support the modernization of the country's financial services sector. ICPS provides IT platforms for key banks in Mauritius including the Mauritius Commercial Bank. In line with its business expansion plans to provide similar services across Africa, ICPS selected IBM's Power Systems. "With our new solution from IBM, we have improved the energy efficiency of our IT systems, decreased transaction processing time and reduced operating costs," said Roshan Kulpoo, ICPS General Manager."

IBM's increased presence in Mauritius and investment in skills is set to have a positive impact on the local IT market, especially the IT services sector.

"The Mauritian Government recognizes the central role ICT plays in enhancing the country's development and we are working to establish Mauritius as a key exporter of ICT services. We want to position the country as a safe and reliable ICT destination, capitalizing on our bilingual workforce and modern ICT infrastructure, and believe that IBM will strongly support this goal," said the Honourable Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum, Minister of information and Communication Technology.

IBM has been present in Mauritius for more than 10 years through its sales team and an established business partner network. Today, IBM's clients on the island also include  Air Mauritius, Bramer Bank, Rogers Group and Mauritius Union Assurance.

Elsewhere in the region, IBM also has locations in the Seychelles and Madagascar through its pan-African partnership with the telecommunications operator Bharti Airtel. 

The expansion of the Mauritian branch office was recognized this week at a ceremony attended by government officials, customers, and business partners in Port Louis.

About IBM

For more information about IBM, please visit: http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/?ca=v_smarterplanet

Contacts

Vera Rosauer
IBM East Africa
+254-20-2834000 
veraros@ke.ibm.com

Arlene Wainstein
IBM MEA
+33(0)672-759574
arlenewainstein@fr.ibm.com

Jonathan Batty
IBM Growth Markets Unit
+48-69393-5403
Jonathan.Batty@pl.ibm.com