HP celebrates 80th anniversary, reaffirms support to Kenyan market

HP was was founded in a one-car garage in Palo Alto by Bill Hewlett and David Packard, in January 1, 1939, the company initially produced a line of electronic test equipment. As the company celebrates its 80 years of existence since it has come a long way from producing test equipment and is currently one of the leading and globally recognised PC manufacturers.

To celebrate the company’s 80 years in existence, HP in Kenya held a glamorous dinner in conjunction with CIO East Africa, the leading ICT publication in the region, to affirm their commitment to their partners in the region with the company already having spent three years in the country where they have secured their market share at 47%.

This was discussed during a panel session featuring: Peter Oganesean – Managing Director UAE and East Africa at HP, Sitki Yavuz – Commercial Channel Sales Manager – United Arab Emirates and Iraq HP and moderator for the night, Laura Chite CEO, CIO East Africa.

During the session Peter Oganesean said that HP made a 3-year plan for the Kenya market that was focused on partners.

“This is not just our 80-year celebration but also our celebration of talking to our Kenya partners for 3 years,” added Oganesean.

He explained that HPs secret to success thus far, is Knowing their customers, understand their external competitors, and staying relevant.

Yavuz explains further that even though HP does not have a manufacturing plant in Kenya, the company is able to impact the lives of its citizens by plugging into the big 4 agenda by creating employment through their partner programme and investing in healthcare initiatives.

Apart from plugging into the big four, HP is also improving the lives of Kenyans through:

The HP Life programme

HP LIFE is a global online program providing business and IT skills training free of charge to people all over the world. HP LIFE is a program of the HP Foundation.

The self-paced courses and online community are designed to help users develop business and IT skills in their own time and at their own pace. The courses are modular, interactive, and full of information and practical exercises that enable users to grow their business skills.

The courses range from Starting a small business, raising capital, marketing to design thinking. The courses are available in 7 languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi, and simplified Chinese).

Countering grey imports into Kenya

In a bid to counter grey imports, HP has stopped U.A.E imports into Kenya. Grey imports are charged highly at service centres.