IT vendors wait for Afghan market to bloom 

Indian IT industry hardware, software and training vendors are closely
watching for the Afghanistan market to mature. With a more progressive
government in place eager to take the path of development, it is but a matter of
time when the country will witness huge spending in IT purchases. Vendors
estimate that in about a year's time the market would be ripe for IT products
and training.

Long ravaged by war, the country has been set back a couple of decades as far
as civil amenities and basic needs go.

However with the huge inflow of funds for the country's development, the
basic needs are expected to be taken care of and the government would then focus
on more sophisticated requirements like computers, Internet, Internet telephony
and the likes.

CII was among the first industry bodies in the world to lead a business
delegation to the country soon after the ousting of the Taliban government.
Since then, there has been a CII office in Kabul with a representative
coordinating with various government ministries to facilitate the entry of
Indian companies.

Said S Lakshman, Head of CII's Kabul Office, "Till now the inquiries
have mostly been by confectionery and consumer durable vendors. We have one or
two software vendors also inquiring. But my guess is that there would be an
opportunity for IT training vendors as Afghans would like to equip themselves
with computer-literacy skills.

"For that matter, the government and NIIT have been having preliminary
talks about offering assistance to the Afghan government for training employees.
But there has not been much development on that front. Said Rajendra Pawar,
Chairman, NIIT, "Afghanistan would emerge as a potential market the
industry in about a year's time. Right now, people are busy putting back their
lives together."

No PC vendor is looking at Afghanistan as a market as of today. However, as
Vinnie Mehta, ED, MAIT, pointed out, "Although the opportunities look bleak
at the moment, I definitely think the Indian PC vendors stand a good chance to
win in the Afghan market particularly since India has established itself as in
the IT world. Due to this image, Indian products stand a better chance than
Taiwan made goods reputed only as low-cost goodies."

Despite the opportunities, as the market matures, Indian companies could face
tough obstacles as donor countries try to push companies from their own country.
But Indian companies also stand to gain from this opportunity, as there are
strong historical ties that they have shared with the Afghan people.

Balaka Baruah Aggarwal

(CNS)