Airtel, Samsung plan new m-Commerce, m-Health services

The Chief Executive Officer (International) and Joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel,Mr. Manoj Kohli, has said that the company and Samsung will partner to develop services that will enhance mobile commerce and mobile health, among others.This declaration came on the heels of a two-year partnership agreement between Airtel and Samsung.The partnership is expected to leverage both Airtel and Samsungs strong brand equity, well developed distribution infrastructure and foot-print across the African continent to achieve common goals and drive penetration.We, Airtel and Samsung, will also join forces to develop services that will enhance m-Commerce, m-Health and other areas that have significant social benefits for the communities that we live and work in across Africa, he saidAccording to Kohli, the agreement gives Airtel exclusive distribution rights for selected Samsung products for the initial six months after they are inaugurated.He stated that the partners would work together to provide market-specific products based on trends and consumer preferences, ensuring Airtel customers had access to products that were tailor-made to their individual needs.The wide range of innovative products that Samsung will collaborate with Airtel on include smartphones, mass market handsets, tablets, dongles and routers.We will work closely with Samsung to provide customers across every segment with cutting edge products. We will leverage each others distribution networks to ensure that the range is within reach of our high value and corporate clients, our larger base with price in mind and especially cater to our young adult market, Kohli said.Between July and September this year, Samsung became the worlds largest supplier of smartphones, according to research conducted by Strategy Analytics.Over the three month period, Samsung shipped 27.8 million smartphones worldwide, compared with 17.1 million from Apple and 16.8 million from Nokia.Africa is the home to over one billion people and is also the worlds youngest population. Under 25s account for 60 per cent of the total population, compared with around 30 per cent in developed countries.Kohli reiterated that Airtel already had footprint across 17 African countries, adding that the company had concluded plans to roll out up to 2,200 retail stores across Africa in 2012.These, he said, would also act as key retail outlets for the Samsung portfolio.The President, Samsung Mobile Division, Mr. J. K. Shin, in his remarks, noted that African markets were very important to the mobile device manufacturer.Shin said, We know that our success in Africa depends on forging meaningful partnerships with key players on the continent, and this is why we decided to join forces with Airtel. We share similar goals and believe that companies have a greater responsibility to the markets in which they operate.
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