NAIROBI, Kenya, December 10, 2007 - On the 27th November 2007, Cisco® formally inaugurated its East African headquarters in Nairobi. The offices, which will be one of the key strategic hubs for the sub-Saharan African market, will also serve as a training and competency centre as well as a reference site. In sub-Saharan Africa, Cisco now has offices in Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Dakar and South Africa."As Cisco evolves into a truly global company, its presence in Africa is increasingly important given the potential for innovations that utilize technology in a completely new way to facilitate growth and develop talent. Africa is now braced to contribute on a global level, and Cisco is at the forefront of this," commented Mark de Simone, vice president for Cisco Middle, East and Africa.

"The launch of our Nairobi office as our East African headquarters demonstrates Cisco's commitment to the sub-Saharan African region," he continued. "Cisco's objective is to help countries in emerging Africa develop technology strategies for productivity growth and social inclusion. The Nairobi office will be the linchpin to enable East African countries to achieve these strategies."

Cisco's commitment to Africa goes beyond bricks and mortar. The company brings four key values to sub-Saharan Africa:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• First, Cisco helps to improve access to digital technologies through its solutions and expertise.
• Second, the company creates local partnerships and large networks that are sources of employment and the development of information and communications technology (ICT).
• Third, Cisco contributes to knowledge transfer by helping to develop an educated local pool of talent that can build and manage sustained networks in the future. For example, the growing number of Cisco Networking Academy programs in Africa offer students an opportunity to pursue ICT curricula through online instructor-led training and hands-on lab exercises. This training allows people to graduate from the academy fully trained and immediately employable, thus helping to address the ICT skill shortage that is so profound in the region.
• Fourth, by brokering the funding for ICT projects, Cisco is helping to reduce the barrier to investment and finances that face organizations in Africa.

Shahab Meshki, manager of regional sales for Cisco in Nairobi, commented; "Nairobi is the right choice for Cisco's East African headquarters, and we are confident that this will help enable us to spearhead all of Cisco's East African activity. Furthermore, Kenya has witnessed considerable growth and development in the ICT arena over the past few years and the Networking Academy in Kenya has enjoyed some remarkable achievements. We will be able to share some of our best practices with our neighboring East African countries. Together we will be able to grow from strength to strength as a region".

For more details about Cisco's EA HQ in Nairobi please visit: http://www.cisco.com/web/EA/index.html