Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) set another significant milestone in its overall Africa growth strategy by strengthening its presence in Senegal through partnerships with two major dealers, DEVEA and Electronic Corporation.

The Senegal announcement is part of a wider CCNA strategy to enhance its business in the Africa continent and strengthen its in-country presence. The collaboration with long-standing and reputed dealers in Senegal underlines Canon’s focus on reinforcing the company’s ‘closer to customer’ strategy in the West Africa region and strengthening its regional presence,

Canon will continue to provide value-added on-ground marketing and sales support to both partners in Senegal and meet customer demand in the rapidly evolving market for both its business and consumer segments.

With a growing distribution network in Senegal that is still at a nascent stage, CCNA hopes to further develop and strengthen this network to cover the market through its diverse product portfolio. Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) form a huge segment of the Senegalese economy and there is an ongoing call by different local and international stakeholders to empower and support this sector to contribute to inclusive economic development.

Canon’s presence in Senegal will therefore provide the company an opportunity to gain in-depth reach across Africa, and to better understand the changing market dynamics and customer demand.

Roman Troedthandl, Managing Director of CCNA, said, “Senegal is one of the fast advancing countries within West Africa with a rapidly growing young population and emergence of Small and Medium Businesses across the country. CCNA`s goal is to penetrate this market and maximise the potential which it has to offer.

“We will further enhance our network of distributors and partners in Senegal as we continue to work on strengthening our overall presence in the African region before we eventually open our first B2B & PV showroom in the country. Our partnership with DEVEA and Electronic Corporation will assist us to tap the huge potential offered by IT and consumer electronic dealer channels through channel penetration and visibility enhancement at key retail stores.”
DEVEA and Electronic Corporation are among the most recognised distributors in the West and Central Africa region due to their wide channel reach, financial capabilities and IT market knowledge.
The partnership with Electronic Corporation will see Canon launch its first Photo Video (PV) showroom later this year. It will also enable the opening of Senegal’s first PV service centre for Canon Photo Video products in 2017. Additionally, Electronic Corporation will help CCNA in gaining market leadership for DSLR cameras.
CCNA, through partnering with DEVEA, will position the brand as one of the preferred brands in the SMB sector with a wide range of inkjet and laser printers that is expected to be launched in Senegal in the coming months. CCNA will strongly participate in Government tenders for our Mid High range of Laser printers through a strong network of SI / VARs.

CCNA will also hire a dedicated Channel Account Manager to take care of channel partners in ensuring the visibility of Canon products.

Troedthandl further added: “Through these valuable local partnerships, CCNA will also look to participate in government tenders for its mid to high range of laser printers.”
CCNA, through partnering with DEVEA, will further enhance its B2B portfolio and provide end to end solutions that will deliver high end results to benefit Senegal’s businesses and industries, and leverage its expected growth. Its offerings will range from the basic copier to its production and wide format printing solutions to fulfil the market need in terms of scanning and archiving solutions.

While CCNA extends its geographic business footprint in the country and the wider region, the organisation remains committed to Senegal’s socio-economic development through several community initiatives.

As part of a ‘Celebrate Africa’ campaign*, CCNA announced the start of an Africa wide online photo competition which will foster creativity among amateur photographers. In previous years, Canon, along with Dubai Cares and as part of ‘Adopt a School’ initiative, has constructed a school in Senegal in partnership with a non-profit organization, buildOn.
Troedthandl explained: “With our corporate philosophy of `Kyosei`, meaning ‘living and working together for the common good,’ we will look to maintain our growth and prosperity in the region through new business initiatives while also promoting our CSR activities.”