Last week in Cape Town, the company made a return to the African Soil by hosting the 8th annual Samsung Africa Forum.
And the beautiful, sunny weather came to the party- ably backed by the declared 7 Wonder of the World: Table Mountain. Need I say more!
The purpose of the three-day forum was to showcase latest technology and interact with press practitioners, from all over Africa.
In his opening speech the President and CEO of Samsung Africa, YY Kim said over the past few years, they’ve held the forum in Europe and this was helpful.
‘Sometimes, we need to step back to get a better view’.
“We’ve listened to the heartbeat of Africa and responded accordingly.
This is also a form of a paradigm shift by inspiring the brand on the African Continent,” noted Kim emphatically.
No figures were punted as per norm at such gatherings.
In between splendid dinners and media tours- the forum exhibited top range products from Wind-Free™ wi-fi enabled air conditioner, the new QLED Q9, Q8, and Q7 TV series with their 100 percent colour volume, the Top Mounted Freezer (TMF) refrigerator range, Samsung’s AddWash™ front-loader washing machines and the MS750 Soundbar.
According to Hlubi Sevanda-Director of Business Operations- Samsung South Africa, these products are designed specifically for emerging markets.
“With the expected continuous growth of this market in 2017, Samsung Electronics aims to lead the continent’s development in the consumer electronics space. The Samsung Africa Forum 2017 is the ideal platform to demonstrate Samsung’s smart technology products and innovative designs for the year ahead,” he said.
All these new products and additions to existing products would be available in the different African markets latest by June 2017.
Businesswoman and former Miss SA Basetsana Kumalo, used the opportunity to highlight how content, technology and digital age has become an in-thing in South Africa for youth’s to take advantage of.
Through her company Connect TV, she indicated that digital Cafes have been rolled out in varsities and locations in Tshwane (Pta) to help students learn about latest technologies taking place in the world without worrying about to pay for it.
“With the help of Samsung tech is the future and youth’s should use that to empower themselves since I’m a recipient of that. Content is king,” exclaimed “Bassie” powerfully, who also said through Connect Academy they’ve created job opportunities for graduates.
Connect Academy commissions, curates and produces short format, hyper -local content that is broadcast to mobile phones. It has also designed and conceptualized an enterprise model to fund new entrants, and support and sustain an operating environment comprising Cafés and Kiosks.
This year’s theme resonated around ‘One Pride’ a reference to a Lion known as the ‘king of the jungle’ in Africa-a sign of Unity and Togetherness despite hard times at the Korean company.
“Samsung Electronics values building strong relationships with our customers, partners and stakeholders, in order to further grow the brand in this unique and exciting consumer landscape.
The Forum affords us the opportunity to share our vision, commitment and world-class innovations in technology and design with our partners across the region. More crucially, it allows us to demonstrate that together, we can move forward with pride, passion and profitability,” concludes Dr Michelle Potgieter- Director: Brand Marketing and Communications at Samsung South Africa.
