E-Business
MEA PC Market Slips by 14.1% in Q1 2013-Report
The Middle East and Africa PC market experienced a significant decline of 14.1% year on year during the first quarter of 2013, according to preliminary results released by International Data Corporation (IDC).
The premier global market intelligence and advisory firm for the information technology and telecommunications markets report also stated that total PC shipments in the region slowed down to 5.3 million units, with desktops declining 18.4% year on year to 2 million units, while notebook shipments declined 11.2% year on year to total 3.3 million units.
“With a growing portion of end users opting for tablets to meet their computing needs, the demand for PCs continues to suffer,” says Fouad Rafiq Charakla, research manager for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.
“Looking at the more mature markets within the region, this trend is extremely visible within the power retail channel, where tablet sales have already exceeded portable PC sales in some power retail outlets. Meanwhile, in markets where the purchasing power of end users is more restricted, low-cost tablets are cannibalizing the demand for locally assembled desktops.”
Microsoft’s recently launched operating system, Windows 8, which was primarily designed for a touch-enabled interface, has also been unable to spur incremental demand for PCs in the region. “Since adding the touch-screen interface hikes up the price of a PC by a considerable margin, the majority of PCs shipped presently still lack touch-enabled screens,” said Charakla.
“This has had the consequence of preventing the operating system from delivering to end users the user experience it is capable of, thus causing the demand for PCs to slow down.”
Growing competition from tablets has caused all key markets in the Middle East and Africa region to decline year on year, with the exception of Turkey, which attained marginal growth, driven by an aggressive sell-in push from certain vendors, power retail campaigns, and public sector initiatives.
“While the ‘Dubai Shopping Festival 2013’ and the ‘GITEX Shopper’ event of April 2013 positively impacted PC shipments in the UAE, these could not prevent the country’s PC market from experiencing a double-digit decline year on year,” said Charakla.
The shift towards demand for tablets was the key reason for the year-on-year declines in PC shipments seen in both Saudi Arabia and South Africa, while the worsening economic situation in the latter compounded the slowdown of its PC market.
Two large PC deals were delivered into the education sectors of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan during the quarter, but these were unable to halt the regional decline.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, political instability continues to negatively affect the economy. “
The country is facing a major credit crisis,” says Victoria Mendes, a research analyst for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. “The devaluation of the Egyptian pound resulted in PC prices increasing during the quarter, eventually causing sales and PC shipments into the country to slow down.”
The situation is similarly bleak elsewhere, according to Feras Ibrahim, a research analyst for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.
“All the smaller Gulf countries experienced a slowdown on PC shipments year on year due to tablet cannibalization and lack of foreign investments,” he says. “Despite huge ongoing infrastructure-development projects in Qatar, PC shipments into the country declined year on year. Inventory liquidation efforts by market players in Oman prevented the country from accepting high shipments, while Kuwait and Bahrain suffered due to ongoing political and social unrest.”
Despite suffering a sharp year-on-year decline in PC shipments of 28.8%, HP continued to dominate the Middle East and Africa PC market during the first quarter of 2013.
Dell also experienced a slowdown in shipments, posting a decline of 12.3% year on year, but it maintained its position at number two. Lenovo was the only player among the top vendors to experience growth in the region during Q1 2013, growing 44.1% year on year to place third.
A common trait among each of these top vendors is that all three enjoy a stronghold in both the commercial and consumer end-user segments.
Portable PC vendor Toshiba suffered a decline of 5.4% year on year, but was able to climb up to fourth position, while Taiwanese vendor Acer saw its PC shipments shrink by 25.5% over the same period as it slipped down to the fifth place. The key strengths of both these vendors continue to lie mainly within the consumer segment.
E-Business
Access Holdings, Coronation Partner Tate Modern to Spotlight Nigerian Modernism

Access Holdings Plc and Coronation Group have partnered with Tate Modern to commemorate World Art Day with a virtual session highlighting the global significance of Nigerian modernism.

Access Holdings
The event, titled “In Conversation with Osei Bonsu: Inside Nigerian Modernism,” featured a virtual tour of the Nigerian Modernism exhibition and discussions on the evolution of modern art in Nigeria.
The session brought together staff members across both organisations, reflecting growing institutional engagement with arts and culture as a driver of societal development.
Speaking at the event, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer of Coronation Group, Ngozi Akinyele, emphasised the role of art in shaping identity and national development.
She said that beyond financial capital, cultural and intellectual capital are essential in defining a nation’s prosperity and inspiring dialogue.
Akinyele noted that both organisations were committed to democratising access to art, ensuring it is accessible to a wider audience rather than a select few.
The discussion also featured insights from Tate Modern Curator, Osei Bonsu, and art expert Daniel Wallis, who examined the development of Nigerian modernism and its global relevance.
Bonsu said Nigerian modernism represents an independent reimagining of global art, rooted in the country’s diverse cultural heritage and expressed through unique visual languages.
According to him, the movement challenges narrow, Eurocentric definitions of modernism and highlights the richness of African artistic expression.
The session further underscored the growing international recognition of Nigerian art, particularly through exhibitions at Tate Modern.
Participants also reflected on the visit of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the exhibition, described as a milestone in promoting Nigeria’s cultural heritage globally.
In his closing remarks, Chief Communications Officer of Access Holdings, Amaechi Okobi, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to advancing African narratives on the global stage.
He said the collaboration with Tate Modern aligns with broader efforts to promote dialogue, preserve cultural identity and support the creative sector.
The event reinforced a shared commitment by Access Holdings, Coronation Group and Tate Modern to elevate African art globally and ensure Nigerian cultural narratives continue to shape international conversations.
E-Business
NDPC Issues Critical Advisory as Hackers Target Nigeria’s Key Digital Systems

Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued a regulatory advisory to data controllers and processors across the country following what it described as escalating threats to Nigeria’s data security architecture.

NDPC
In a statement signed by Babatunde Bamigboye, lead of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, the commission said its technical assessment revealed that some shadowy threat actors were engaged in coordinated operations targeting financial systems and critical digital infrastructure in Nigeria.
The commission urged public institutions to comply with the presidential directive of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which emphasises the strategic importance of data in national development.
According to the NDPC, the President had declared that “data is the new oil,” stressing the need for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to rigorously capture and safeguard information in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
The commission therefore advised all data controllers and processors to urgently strengthen their technical and organisational measures to protect personal data and ensure compliance with the law.
It listed key measures to include the appointment of trained and certified Data Protection Officers, implementation of comprehensive privacy policies and information security standards, as well as conducting Data Privacy Impact Assessments.
Other measures recommended by the NDPC include deployment of robust identity and access controls such as Multi-Factor Authentication, adoption of zero-trust security architecture, prompt remediation of system vulnerabilities, and continuous patch management.
The commission also emphasised the need to secure cloud infrastructure, application programming interfaces (APIs), databases and access credentials, alongside real-time monitoring, logging and threat detection systems.
Further recommendations include encryption and secure credential handling, regular vulnerability assessment and penetration testing of critical systems, as well as routine backup and resilience testing.
The NDPC warned that organisations that fail to implement appropriate data protection measures in accordance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 risk legal liabilities.
It reiterated its commitment to providing regulatory support to organisations while ensuring the protection of personal data and strengthening institutional resilience across all sectors.
E-Business
Africa’s Forex Market in 2026: Key Trends Every Trader Should Watch

The forex market across Africa is witnessing more participants and more regulatory attention than it did just a few years ago. This growth is part of a bigger picture: Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to expand by 4.3% in 2026, while global forex turnover already hit an estimated $9.6 trillion daily in April 2025. However, there’s more to it than macroeconomic figures.

The trends reshaping the market are happening from within. Here are six worth paying close attention to.
1. Trading Has Moved to the Phone
The number of people accessing the market via mobile phones exceeds those accessing it via traditional bank systems. GSMA states that in Sub-Saharan Africa alone, there are more than 1.1 billion registered mobile money accounts.
The International Monetary Fund states that digitalisation and increased usage of the internet are changing payment systems in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.
Mobile access changes traders’ behavior. It lowers the barrier to entry and speeds up deposits and withdrawals. Therefore, brokers who can provide a quality mobile trading experience will have a huge advantage.
2. Regulators Are Watching
The market is becoming more structured and more transparent. In South Africa, the FSCA regulates market conduct for financial institutions. In Kenya, the Capital Markets Authority regulates capital markets and maintains a licensing system that includes online forex brokers.
Nigeria’s SEC has publicly warned that online retail forex trading can be subject to abuse when unregulated. It also provides tools for investors to check operators’ registrations.
As a result, in 2026, more traders are likely to favour brokers that can show clear licensing, transparent operations, and stronger investor safeguards.
3. Volatility Varies by Country
A common mistake is perceiving the African market as one entity. In reality, according to RegTech Afrika, there are 21 countries out of a total of 54 that have a chance of seeing their currencies depreciate in 2025, with some of them losing value by as much as 6% or more.
A trader watching the rand, naira, shilling, or cedi, regional headlines needs more than regional headlines. Country-level macro data, central bank moves, and the US dollar will still play a major role.
4. Cross-Border Payment Infrastructure Is Quietly Improving
Platforms like PAPSS are helping make payments across African countries faster and easier to complete in local currencies. According to official announcements of PAPSS, it has become operational in 18 countries across Africa, with its latest launch in Algeria in 2025. It has also become operational in Kenya through a partnership with KCB Group, as well as in Rwanda through a partnership with Bank of Kigali.
Step by step, Africa is becoming a more financially connected continent.
5. Execution Quality Is the New Standard
Data from the BIS shows that in April 2025, three-quarters of FX trades were intermediated by the global centers of the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Therefore, the best liquidity and best prices are still linked to global conditions.
For local markets, this raises the bar. Forex traders are becoming increasingly aware that tight spreads, while important, mean little without reliable prices and execution. Brokers like JustMarkets that can bring all of these elements together are in a much stronger position than competitors.
6. Education as a Necessity
Regulatory disclosures from major global brokers illustrate how tough it is to trade without proper knowledge. According to publicly available disclosures, between 70% and 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.
Forex traders who understand risk management and which financial news to follow have a better chance of surviving the market. Brokers who invest in education are more likely to be seen by traders as valuable partners rather than mere facilitators.
The Market Rewards the Prepared
Africa’s forex market in 2026 is shaped by volatility, stricter rules, and mobile-first trading. The traders who combine market knowledge with the right tools and the right broker will find real opportunity here, while those who don’t adapt will find the market increasingly unforgiving.
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