Why?
Because, as much as I watch Microsoft, I certainly do not recall them making a concerted effort to create Africa-specific programs. Even the piecemeal efforts by Microsoft in sub-Saharan Africa seem to focus on South African first, and Southern Africa next, before hoping it trickles to other countries..
This is unfortunate, and it exposes the stupid, and outdated colonial thinking at the highest levels among Microsoft’s executive leadership.
Africa is vast, and growing substantially. Moreover, anyone hoping to truly grow in Africa has to deal with Nigeria, where the population is close to 20% of the continent, and a greater percentage of Black Africans.
Geopolitics aside, the nearly billion population count, and the population growth there should make it a priority.
Scarily though, Microsoft cannot seem to focus in or on Africa.
The missteps are legion:
- Allowing Negroponte to assume the upper hand with that infernal OLPC. Thankfully, the silliness and lack of utility of that product caused it to implode before condemning an entire generation or more of Africans to a product that only makes sense if the users are being groomed to a life of servitude, or menial labor. Seriously, where have you seen anyone, in the real world, use the blasted Linux variant that ran those devices?
- Allowing Linuxheads to attempt to gain a foothold in the minds of Africans as the OS for them. As if. While I know Canonical, the publishers of Ubuntu, is an African company, no one wants Linux if it places them at a competitive disadvantage.
- Allowing Google to push its Gmail product among ISPs there with impunity.
- Not pushing the mobiles product, be it Windows Mobile or now, Windows Phone, to the mobile telcos out there. It is surprising to see people actually ask to buy a Blackberry in 2011. While anecdotal, I can almost bet that Africa is the only growing market for RIM.
With fails like this, you would think Microsoft would have a more coherent strategy. However, it does not seem that Microsoft has learned.
At the very least, Microsoft needs to decouple Africa from it’s EMEA umbrella, and have it stand alone. While the new fiefdom might be small in terms of revenue, the potentiality it represents in terms of loyal – locked-in? – customers if an Africa-specific strategy is successfully executed would be without parallel. I am quite sure that there are various studies that show the loyalty of virtually all sub-Saharan consumers to specific brands.
Again I ask, where is your Africa bet, Microsoft?
