Microsoft to launch antipiracy media campaign in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA (The Reporter) — Microsoft Corp. has announced that it will soon start a strong media campaign against pirated computer software programs.

Andrew Waititu, licensing and compliance manager for East Africa, on told journalists that his company has made a market assessment in Ethiopia. “Based on the assessment we found out that 85-90 percent of the software programs in the local market are pirated,” Waititu said.

According to Waititu, Ethiopian government offices, the largest computer buyers, are suffering from the impacts of pirated software. “We need to create awareness among the public on the negative impacts of pirated software. People may think that they would save money by purchasing pirated software for cheap prices. However, the repercussion will cost the consumer more,” he said.

Microsoft will launch a strong media campaign at the end of this month which will last in three or four months. Experts of the company will organize training programs for purchasers and decision makers. Microsoft loses USD 1.03 billion every year because of pirated software programs in Africa. Most of these products are imported from Asia into Africa.