Dubai, 17 February, 2013: Canon Middle East, a leader in imaging solutions, has announced that it has established a subsidiary company in the Republic of Kenya, in a bid to strengthen Canon's position across the rapidly growing markets of East Africa.

The dedicated entity in Kenya has been set up to further reinforce the company's 'closer to customer' strategy in the region. Canon Kenya Limited will function as a Canon Middle East rep office focused on providing marketing and channel development services to both new and existing partners and clients across Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Eritrea, Rwanda and Burundi, under the directives of the Canon Middle East office.

The move comes after Canon strategic decision in 2011 to move the company's operations in East Africa to Canon Middle East that were previously handled by Canon South Africa, to further enhance the delivery of support services to channel partners in the region.

The newly set up subsidiary will include two Channel Account Managers who will oversee the provision of on the ground support to tier 2 distributors across specific markets in East Africa. This is in addition to a dedicated Area Manager, based out of the Canon Middle East office in Dubai, who will be responsible for all Tier 1 operations across the East African markets.

Anurag Agrawal, Managing Director, Canon Middle East said: "The establishment of Canon Kenya Limited will broaden our ability to invest in the African markets. The new office in Kenya is strategically positioned to bring us closer to our customers and partners across the key markets in East Africa, giving us the opportunity to offer them greater support. The move is in line with our vision for 2013, as Canon Middle East ventures into a new phase of innovation that is underpinned by our strength to drive growth through diversification. Canon Middle East and Canon Kenya will work together to provide customers with future technologies that can help transform business through enabling connectivity in addition to offering cross media imaging and value added services, bringing us closer to our goal of achieving a with our expanded presence in the region, we will also contribute to the development of local talent in East Africa and together help boost business for partners and customers throughout the region."

In 2013, Canon Middle East together with the newly launched Canon Kenya Limited will provide partners and customers in the emerging markets of Africa with on-the-ground marketing support. It will also render an opportunity to help the company gather more in depth reach into Africa to and better understand its changing market dynamics and customer demands.

Further information about Canon Middle East is available at: www.canon-me.com