Johannesburg, 11 May 2011
Nokia and the MTN Group have signed a strategic partnership agreement aimed at helping them expand into key markets within the Middle East and Africa region.
“The framework agreement will permit the large community of MTN customers to benefit from the integration of Nokia devices and solutions,” says a statement from MTN.
Nokia and MTN previously partnered to introduce the Nokia C3 handset, in Nigeria, and the Nokia E7 phone and business tools for corporate clients in SA.
“The intention is to drive similar bundles, services and experiences in other MTN markets and add value to customers,” says MTN.
Local life
Joint marketing and sales campaigns will be designed on a regional level, and Nokia mobile phones and smartphones will be combined with services such as orientation and navigation.
The companies will also collaborate to develop hyper-local applications, such as the Ovi Life Tools, providing relevant data for farming, education and entertainment.
Ovi Life Tools services have already recorded some success since their introduction in 2009. In Kenya, Nokia maps have been used to both map and report the location of fresh water sources.
According to Nokia, five million people in Nigeria, China, India and Indonesia make use of the Life Tools agricultural information service via SMS.
Nokia devices and Life Tools have also been used for an educational delivery project in the Philippines and Tanzania that provides access to educational materials.
Strengthen and expand
“Going to the market with a strategic partner like Nokia is of prime importance for our operations,” says senior VP of commercial and innovation for the MTN Group Christian de Faria.
“We are convinced that our MTN customers will obtain immediate advantages for their cost-effective and reliable communications thanks to a strong brand such as Nokia.”
VP for Nokia Middle East and Africa, Chris Braam, adds: “A strategic partnership agreement with MTN Group brings us an additional opportunity to strengthen our existing relationships and bring a strong consumer proposition to other markets.
“We are committed to delivering outstanding communications technologies to the growing community of 141 million MTN subscribers in the whole of Middle East and Africa.”
Collective change
This announcement follows Nokia CEO and president Stephen Elop's statement earlier this year that the company would focus on a strategy to “connect the unconnected”.
Speaking at the Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Elop said: "Eighty percent of the world's population today is within cellphone signal range, and yet only 20% is actually somehow connected to the Internet. Collectively, we can all change that.
“We can connect the unconnected with the help of operators and developers the world over. Regardless of where you are in the economic pyramid, you want to feel great about what you carry in your hand," said Elop.
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