Samsung Africa Forum 2017: Interviews with Samsung Product Managers

I got to sit down with Sunil Gupta (Regional Manager for Digital Appliances) and Chaun-Paul Reddiar (Regional Product Manager for Visual Display and Audio) to chat about how they work to make sure Samsung’s new products for Africa are relevant.

Techtrends: How do you best build your products for Africa?

Sunil: Having different tastes is one thing Samsung knows the consumer has and so we build products that cut across all types of classes. Products are created with the different challenges Africa faces like erratic electricity supply. Lifestyles are studied too so we can give the best possible product for that region.

My focus in my role as Manager of Digital Appliances is to get into every kitchen because that’s the best part of any home.

Techtrends: What opportunities do you see with the continent and it’s increasing population? 

Sunil: Africa is a growing market, with a young population. People’s incomes are slowly but steadily increasing, increasing purchasing power, and more technology is being sought after. The huge population means enormous opportunity.

As Samsung we want to evolve with people’s lifestyles. The quality of education is improving especially with more people taking classes online, so the level of people getting educated and starting business means there are more profits being made and more people they employ, who are earning an income. This is improving consumers’ financial status, changing the kind of technology they demand.

Techtrends: How do you know the product you’re making really caters to a specific region down to the country?

Chaun-Paul: We have research and development departments in almost every country we’re in that brings in reports based on their findings within a particular country and those are aggregated into consideration before making a product. Samsung has the Built For Africa (BFA) programme that helps make appropriate products for Africa, but we must understand that innovation comes at a cost so technology may be pricey. However we have different types of products to suit every type of consumer and their budget.

Read more on the presentations that Samsung product leads gave at the Samsung Africa Forum 2017 here and see what major products are coming to the continent this year here.