RIM Blackberry successfully introduced to Africa

Research In Motion (RIM), the company responsible for BlackBerry smartphones brand, has launched their latest technological offering in more than 25 African countries according to a statement.

In an exclusive interview, Regional Director for Sub Sahara Africa of RIM, Deon Liebenberg, said the African market was responding positively to the BlackBerry smartphones, which was introduced to the market some five months ago.

“Smartphone adoption is rapidly increasing throughout Sub-Sahara Africa. People from all walks of life – including business professionals and politicians – rely on smartphones such as the BlackBerry devices to stay connected to everything that matters in their business and personal lives.

“More and more people are realising that mobile technology enables them to keep work moving forward while they are away from the office.

“An Ipsos-Reid study showed that BlackBerry smartphone users can turn an hour of downtime into productive work time each day and that BlackBerry smartphones can increase the efficiency of an entire team by nearly 38%,” said Liebenberg.

He said RIM, together with its carrier partners, had successfully launched the BlackBerry solution in 25 African countries, among them Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia.

Liebenberg said RIM, which recently launched both the BlackBerry® Storm™ smartphone and the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 smartphone in the South African market, was impressed with the market’s response to the gadgets.

“Furthermore, our network operator partners have reported unprecedented interest from their subscribers all wanting to get their hands on a BlackBerry smartphone.”

Meanwhile, Liebenberg said consultations with RIM partners on how to contribute to the 2010 World Cup were at an advanced stage.

“We are in discussions with our partners in South Africa to see how we can contribute and make use of the opportunities presented by the FIFA 2010 World Cup,” said Liebenberg.