{"id":10395,"date":"2026-07-08T06:22:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.asbis.com\/news\/?p=10395"},"modified":"2026-07-08T06:26:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:26:43","slug":"what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-technology-business-inwest-central-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.asbis.com\/news\/press\/what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-technology-business-inwest-central-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"What it really takes to build a technology business in West & Central Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Building technology businesses in emerging markets requires far more than efficient distribution. Success depends on local expertise, deep market knowledge, navigating regulatory complexity, developing trusted partnerships and creating the conditions for long-term growth.

For over 30 years, ASBIS has been building its expertise across some of the world’s most complex and fastest-growing emerging markets.

Azerbaijan is a strong example of this expertise. Apple sales through ASBIS increased by more than 4,000% over 7 years, driven by a market-specific strategy focused on developing the authorised channel, strengthening retail capabilities, introducing affordability programmes and expanding value-added services.

ASBIS is now bringing this expertise to West & Central Africa, having recently expanded its long-standing partnership with Apple by taking responsibility for developing the brand across the region, starting with Ghana and Ivory Coast. This marks the first phase of a long-term strategy covering 14 countries, with plans to gradually expand its portfolio beyond Apple.

The opportunity is significant. The WECA region is home to approximately 1.35 billion people and has a median age of just over 20 years. Internet penetration has reached approximately 45-48% and continues to grow rapidly year after year, supported by expanding digital infrastructure and the rollout of new connectivity solutions such as Starlink across the region. Yet market potential is only part of the story.

To better understand the opportunities, challenges and operational realities behind ASBIS’ expansion into WECA, we spoke with Artem Ahunov, General Manager of WECA at ASBIS.

“Many companies look at Africa and see one opportunity. In reality, every country has its own business environment, regulatory framework, customer behaviour and commercial dynamics. There is no single strategy that works across the region<\/em>.”

One of the first strategic decisions was choosing where to begin.

“Our objective wasn’t simply to enter the biggest market. It was to establish a business that could grow sustainably over the long term<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That is why ASBIS chose Ghana and Ivory Coast as the first step of its long-term regional strategy. Both markets provide the right foundation for building sustainable operations an supporting future expansion across the region.
One of the biggest differences between West Africa and many other markets lies in its financial ecosystem. While affordability programmes in Europe are largely built around traditional banking products, many West African markets rely on mobile money for everyday transactions, salary payments and access to credit.

“Financing plays a critical role in the sale of premium consumer technology globally. In many West African markets, traditional banking products simply aren’t available at the same scale. Understanding how local payment systems work becomes just as important as understanding the customer.<\/em>“

Building a sustainable business also means adapting to local market realities. Political uncertainty, taxation, customs procedures, logistics and access to experienced local talent all influence how companies enter and scale across the region.

Another important challenge is the size of the grey market.

“We can’t compete with the grey market by lowering prices. That’s simply not how this market works. Our focus is on strengthening the official channel through retail development, affordability programmes, marketing support, after-sales service and value\u0002added solutions.<\/em>\u201d

Regulatory initiatives are also beginning to reshape the market.

“IMEI registration is not simply a regulatory requirement. It is one of the tools helping to build a more transparent market and increase the share of official sales.<\/em>“
The expansion into West & Central Africa reflects ASBIS’ long-term approach to emerging markets.
Over the next 5 years, the company plans to strengthen its presence across all 14 countries covered by the Apple agreement while gradually expanding its portfolio beyond Apple. The strategy combines local teams, operational excellence, affordability programmes, value-added services and channel development to build a strong foundation for sustainable growth across the region.

As our conversation with Artem Ahunov highlighted, building a technology business in West & Central Africa is about much more than entering a new market. Success depends on understanding local realities, adapting global strategies and investing in long-term partnerships.

Africa is often discussed through the lens of demographics and growth potential. Those factors explain why global technology companies are looking at the region. They do not explain what it takes to succeed there. As more companies expand into Africa, local expertise will become one of the most important competitive advantages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Building technology businesses in emerging markets requires far more than efficient distribution. Success depends on local expertise, deep market knowledge, navigating regulatory complexity, developing trusted partnerships and creating the conditions for long-term growth. For over 30 years, ASBIS has been building its expertise across some of the world’s most complex and fastest-growing emerging markets. Azerbaijan…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10396,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat it really takes to build a technology business in West & Central Africa - ASBIS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.asbis.com\/news\/press\/what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-technology-business-inwest-central-africa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What it really takes to build a technology business in West & Central Africa - ASBIS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Building technology businesses in emerging markets requires far more than efficient distribution. Success depends on local expertise, deep market knowledge, navigating regulatory complexity, developing trusted partnerships and creating the conditions for long-term growth. For over 30 years, ASBIS has been building its expertise across some of the world’s most complex and fastest-growing emerging markets. 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