Sage (FTSE: SGE) (https://www.Sage.com/en-za/) the market leader in cloud business management solutions, has appointed three Authorised Sage Distributors in the SADC, East Africa and West African regions to serve as valued-added distribution partners for its small and medium business products and services. The partnership agreements enable Sage to expand its presence in Southern Africa and West Africa, simplify and improve operational processes, and reach new markets and new customers.

The new distribution partners are:

• First Distribution (https://www.FirstDistribution.com/) will distribute Sage’s small business products in SADC, East Africa and West Africa;
• Axiz (https://www.Axiz.com/) will distribute medium business products in SADC and East Africa; and
• Redington (http://www.RedingtonValue.com/) will distribute medium business products in West Africa.

Pieter Bensch (http://bit.ly/2VqLqGg), Executive Vice President for Africa & Middle East at Sage said: “Sub-Saharan Africa is a strategic, high-growth region for us with many businesses recognising the need to move from legacy business software solutions to smarter cloud-based business solutions. Partnering with best-of-breed distribution partners in SADC, East and West Africa enables us to serve the needs of this dynamic market better.

“We are positioning our business for accelerated growth in new and established markets – establishing a wider footprint through a strong distribution network. We have carefully selected distributors with a well-established partner base and robust compliance practices. We will benefit from their well-established expertise and practices in the software industry, including licensing and renewals.”

Axiz, a value-added distributor with a footprint across Southern Africa, East Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, has the official distribution rights for Sage 300cloud, Sage 300 People, Sage X3 and Sage X3 People & HR, and Sage 200 Evolution across SADC and East Africa.

Rezelde Botha, Sage Business Unit Manager at Axiz, said: “We see excellent growth potential for Sage’s medium business products across Africa, with companies throughout the continent looking to enhance their people, processes and systems to compete in a digital age. We are excited to collaborate with Sage and our resellers to unlock the potential and support the region’s businesses in their transition to the cloud.”

For West Africa, Redington has the official distribution rights for Sage 300cloud, Sage 300 People, Sage X3 and Sage X3 People & HR, and Sage 200 Evolution, all of which are cloud-powered software solutions for accounting, payroll and more that cater to medium-sized enterprises.

“We are excited by the opportunities this partnership offers to extend Sage’s reach into a wider customer base and to help businesses in West Africa to accelerate their growth,” said Sayantan Dev, Senior Vice President, Redington Gulf Value Distribution, which has a portfolio of 220 international technology brands across more than 30 emerging markets. “We are looking forward to working closely with our channel partners to help new and existing Sage customers throughout the region to streamline their processes and improve their agility.”

First Distribution, a pan-African ICT distributor for Datacentre, Enterprise and Cloud solutions will distribute Sage 50cloud Accounting, Sage Pastel Payroll and Sage Business Cloud Payroll & Accounting in SADC, East Africa and West Africa. These award-winning financial solutions enable small businesses to save time and resources by automating processes for managing finances (http://bit.ly/3c5tTsW) and payroll (http://bit.ly/3a6eWVN) and accepting payments (http://bit.ly/2PvaVm1) -- from controlling cash flow to creating and sending invoices.

Said Jason Sharp, Director: Cloud & Hosting at First Distribution: “Sub-Saharan Africa represents one of the fastest maturing small and medium business markets in the world. The small business sector is dynamic in its approach to sustainable growth. It has led to increased demand for business solutions that help companies reduce their admin burden, improve efficiencies and streamline compliance. By combining the strengths of Sage and the First Distribution Partner Network, we see significant opportunity to enable small businesses to grow and succeed. As Africa’s leading Cloud technology distributor, First Distribution looks forward to growing the Sage brand across Africa.”