Today in Nairobi at 9:00 a.m. EAT /2:00 a.m. EDT, IBM Chairman
and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano and Bharti Airtel Chairman and
Managing Director, Sunil Mittal, participated in a joint press
conference to announce an agreement in principle that will
accelerate the transformation of mobile communications and speed
WHAT: economic development across the African Continent.
(See press release @ http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/
pressrelease/32505.wss)
Under the terms of the sweeping 10-year collaboration, IBM (NYSE: )(NYSE:IBM) will manage the computing technology and services that power
Bharti Airtel's 16-country mobile communications network.
On a continent where mobile communications forms the backbone for
commerce, and the World Bank estimates that 77 percent of
Africans do not have access to traditional financial services,
lowering the barrier to entry for owning mobile devices can drive
significant economic gain. In fact, every 10 percent jump in
mobile penetration is estimated to drive a 1.2 percent gain in
WHY: gross domestic product (GDP).*
This far-reaching agreement has the potential to:
-- Transform telecommunications in Africa
-- Build a capability to provide world-class services and
offerings to companies who operate across Africa
-- Radically jumpstart IBM's growth efforts in Africa
WHO: Bruno Di Leo, General Manager, Growth Markets, IBM
Dr. Jai Menon, Chief Technology & Information Officer, Bharti
Airtel International