Blackberry makers to leverage on Nigeria's $25bn telecoms market

CANADA-BASED Research In Motion (RIM), makers of Blackberry Smartphone, would be leveraging on Africa and indeed, Nigeria's large mobile market potential to improve on its dwindling global market share, due to intense competition from other brands.Already, the company has unfolded plans to open a permanent local outlet in the country, to be signposted by its fully branded Blackberry retail store in Lagos.RIM, which admitted dwindling market share especially from the North American market, said the situation was as a result of the introduction and usage of long-term evolution with full touch interphase technology in the market.Speaking in Lagos on Wednesday about its planned expansion in Nigeria, RIM's Regional Managing Director, Robert Bose, said the Blackberry company was trying to maximise global market share with inroads into Nigeria and 'we have the local team doing the ground work for us presently.'Quoting statistics from research firm- Informa and Telecoms, which stated that out of the over four million smartphones in Nigeria, Blackberry currently enjoys 50 per cent amounting to two million users, Bose noted that for RIM to reduce the impact of competition on its market share, it has to deepen its presence in the Nigerian market, which is currently booming.The RIM's Regional Managing Director said the move, which marks the expansion of RIM's footprint in Africa from its headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, underlines the company's commitment to its partners and customers in one of the world's fastest growing mobile markets ' Nigeria.Appreciating the Nigeria's telecommunications market, which has increased its foreign Direct Investment from $18 billion to $25 billion within the last three years, according to the Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, Bose said: 'As the leading smartphone provider in Nigeria and in Africa overall, our customers are our number one priority, so we are very pleased to cement our physical presence with local staff, establish a new legal entity and work with local business partners to expand our retail and customer care across Nigeria.'According to him, RIM, in association with mobile phone distributor- Slot Nigeria, officially opened the Blackberry by Slot store in Nigeria at Computer Village, Ikeja on Monday, designed especially to provide Nigerian customers with a first-class, authentic Blackberry purchasing experience, including free software upgrades from the facility in the market store.
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