Sahara extends to Mozambique

By Staff Writer for Sahara
Johannesburg, 07 May 2007

Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding, Mozambique's government has agreed in principle to the opening of a new 3 000 unit per month Sahara assembly operation in Maputo.

Sahara says this is the foundation operation for what all stakeholders anticipate will be a joint venture involving Sahara Holdings and the Mozambique Information and Communication Technology (MICT) organisation.

The agreement makes provision for a 3 000 unit per month plant that will assemble and distribute both laptop and desktop units. It represents the preliminary stage of the launch of a 5 000 sqare metre ICT and component distribution plant, to supply infrastructure and product to the region.

"Sahara plans to invest over three million US dollars in equipment and infra-structure in a phased manner to set up the assembly operation," says Atul Gupta, MD at Sahara Computers. "This operation will supply key existing and emerging markets in Mozambique."

Sahara Holdings, in conjunction with MICT, has identified a number of areas that will benefit from the solutions provided via this plant. These areas include government, education and the local corporate sector, with a strong focus on ICT and telecommunications development.

"In the long term, the core focus is going to be the development of local business and entrepreneurs through the creation of dealerships and resellers throughout Mozambique. We will also explore the possibility of expanding capacity to export products to neighbouring countries," adds Gupta.

The project is expected to start operations during the second quarter of 2007.