Esri announces a new distributorship for its GIS software in Africa with the opening of Esri Eastern Africa Ltd. (Esri EA). This expansion is in response to the evolving needs of the GIS market in the region. Esri EA will provide software sales, support, and service to users in Kenya, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Esri’s installation base in the region has tripled over the last seven years, and many United Nations (UN) agencies and government ministries are large users of Esri technology, which is the de facto standard for GIS in Eastern Africa. Natural resources management, sustainable development, demographics, education, and transportation are the established markets, with emerging opportunities in areas such as land record management, utilities, and health and human services.
Oakar Services, Ltd. (OSL), the former Esri distributor in the region, will now focus on GIS project and consulting services and remains a sales channel for software solutions that complement the Esri core technology sold and supported by Esri EA.
Comments Willy Simons, managing director of Esri EA, "The start of Esri EA is a tremendous motivation for our employees, helping them provide even better service to our customers. It also sends out a compelling message to our customers of Esri’s continued support in the Eastern Africa region, which is rich in its natural and cultural diversity and potential. The combined strength of Esri, a reputable global company, and the local presence and experience of Esri EA allows us to expand the use of GIS and presents interesting opportunities for our end-users and partners."
Says Clive Ondimu, sales and marketing manager of Esri EA, “We want to mature the use of GIS in the region using a consultative approach. It is our mission to inform our clients on GIS-driven business value and help them achieve a rapid economic justification from their GIS investments. Esri EA will continue to exert its corporate social responsibility by promoting formal GIS skills development in educational institutions, employing the best GIS graduates, and nurturing GIS user groups and GIS Day events.”
Comments Thomas Ndegwa, incoming managing director of OSL, “We are excited by the prospect of partnering with Esri EA toward the further growth of the GIS industry in Eastern Africa. OSL is well positioned to provide GIS and remote-sensing project and consulting services and aims to develop GIS turnkey solutions based on Esri’s core technology in various industries. We have recently been contracted by the Ministry of Education in Kenya to undertake the National School Mapping Project and expect a growing demand for the mapping of infrastructure and critical facilities throughout the Eastern Africa region.”
Concludes Esri president Jack Dangermond, "We are pleased to welcome Esri Eastern Africa to our distributor network and look forward to working with them to help expand the use of GIS technology in the region."
To visit Esri Eastern Africa online, go to www.esriea.co.ke.