Salah: African Markets Have Talents, Potential to Scale Businesses

Khaled Salah, AVEVA's Vice President for African markets, highlighted the substantial potential for African markets, especially Nigeria, to scale businesses by effectively utilizing data and leveraging local strengths. Since January, AVEVA has separated its Middle East and Africa markets, with Salah leading the Africa division and focusing on six key countries: Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya.

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AVEVA is an industrial software company and we help our customers to utilise their data to bring efficiency and to put data into context to bring utilisation to their operation.

Salah identified talent, innovation, resilience, and maturity as key attributes in these focus countries that AVEVA can build upon. He views Nigeria as central to digital transformation in Africa, citing its large, youthful population (nearly 60 percent) possessing the necessary skills for advancement. Additionally, Nigeria's significant experience in the oil and gas sector presents opportunities for AVEVA to support major companies in their digital transformation journeys. Government initiatives promoting digital transformation further bolster AVEVA's interest in the Nigerian market.

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Nigeria is really the heart of digital transformation in Africa for a couple of reasons. The first reason is about the youthful population that is almost 60 per cent. Nigeria has a vibrant youthful population with the right ingredient and the right skills to take the country to a higher level.

During AVEVA's Day in Nigeria, which brought together partners and customers, Salah articulated the company's "Africa for Africa" philosophy. This approach emphasizes prioritizing the continent's specific needs and tailoring technology, go-to-market strategies, and business models accordingly, rather than simply applying global standards. AVEVA plans to invest in local talent, students, and partners, empowering them to innovate with AVEVA's technology to serve customers effectively.

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Africa should be Africa for Africa. This is what I mentioned on the stage during the AVEVA Day in Nigeria. It means that we need to prioritise what the continent needs. We cannot just bring a global standard and push it to Africa, because it will not work. We need to tailor our technology and tailor our go-to-market and tailor our model to Africa.

Salah stated that AVEVA's first line of investment is directed towards its partners in Nigeria, who resell AVEVA's technology. This strategy underscores the company's commitment to building a strong local ecosystem and fostering growth through collaboration and localized solutions. Nigeria's dynamic market position within the EMEA region makes it a key focus for AVEVA's 2026 business roadmap.

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Our first line of investment is in our partners. We have technology partners in Nigeria that resell AVEVA technology to