PC shipments to East Africa increased 3.0% year on year in the final quarter of 2013 to total 140,251 units according to IDC.

Because of the proliferation of mobile devices, the economic slump in Europe, the downward trend in the overall PC market is progressively quite remarkable, year-on-year. But there are signs of hope in the emerging markets where the public sector (governments, education, infrastructures, communications, banks, finances…)

will drive the market.

Today, Connectikpeople.co has captured new insights from global market research and advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC), which mentioned strong performances in the markets of Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia helped offset the poor performance seen in Kenya, where the introduction of new VAT legislation resulted in a significant downturn in PC shipments.

According to IDC, the new VAT law had a debilitating impact on the PC market in Kenya, with shipments contracting 10.7% year on year in Q4 2013. "The bill's introduction, which sees a levy of 16% added to all ICT products, resulted in a huge loss of business due to logistical issues caused by the hasty implementation of the new regulations by the Kenya Revenue Authority. However, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda all performed much more strongly, recording impressive year-on-year PC shipment growth of 31.7%, 18.7%, and 20.1%, respectively’’, says James Mutua, a research analyst at IDC East Africa.

Shipments of desktop PCs to East Africa declined to 48,652 units, down 3.3% year on year.

According to IDC, the portable PC shipments to the region which were up 6.8% year on year in Q4 2013 to 91,599 units, was slower than expected as Samsung opted to reduce its shipments into East Africa amid a change in business model that will see the vendor increase its focus on high-margin PC products, smartphones, and tablets.

IDC expects government sector spending on IT in Kenya to be affected in 2014 following a recent Treasury directive to all government departments to freeze all purchases of computer equipment, among other things, in an attempt to cut costs. The laptop project for Class One pupils will not be affected.