Japan-based technology group Ricoh is to accelerate its investment in South Africa, spending about R200-million as it looks to expand its presence in a key emerging market.

"South Africa is viewed as a very important strategic investment opportunity... the gateway into Africa," Ricoh South Africa managing director Richard Pinker told Business Report last month.

Ricoh South Africa said the growth plans included the launch of Ricoh Capital South Africa, infrastructure enhancements and the creation of an optimised supply chain process.

The investments would "further enhance Ricoh's direct customer interactions and enable it to stay at the forefront of their document management needs" while creating new employment opportunities in the region, the local unit said in a statement.

"Our region is an important focus for Ricoh in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and our team is energised to further increase our client services and contribute to the overall Ricoh growth strategy," Pinker said.

Pinker told ITWeb the initial investment had started in the company's IT unit, where it put in a 60Mb connection to the UK that would provide the local unit with opportunities to expand into sub-Saharan Africa.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group specialises in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. It operates in more than 200 countries and regions.

Source: SouthAfrica.info
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