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Microsoft Looking to Become South Africa’s No.1 Smartphone Provider by 2016

Microsoft Looking to Become South Africa’s No.1 Smartphone Provider by 2016

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), trying to find growth markets for its mobile products, is projecting that rising demand in South Africa will help it pass BlackBerry and Android and pave the way for further gains on the continent.

The company, working with hardware partners such as Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) and HTC Corp. (2498), plans to become South Africa’s No. 1 smartphone provider by 2016, Gustavo Fuchs, who runs its Windows Phone business in Africa and Middle East, said in an interview. The company plans models across a range of prices to lure users in the continent’s biggest economy, where the average household income is about $13,500 a year.

Africa will be the fastest-growing market by wireless subscribers over the next five years, according to consulting firm A.T. Kearney. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft is seeking areas of growth for its mobile business, which lags far behind Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc.’s Android that combined account for about 90 percent of the global smartphone market.

“With a low-smartphone-penetration market, Windows Phone has a bigger chance to be the first smartphone for users,” Fuchs said in a phone interview from Johannesburg. “The smartphone snowball effect has started.”

Read more at bloomberg.com