French IoT firm Kerlink is expanding into South Africa with the appointment of IoTdc, a distributor of connected hardware and device-related applications for the IoT.
 
Kerlink, a provider of products for designing, launching and operating public and private LoRaWan IoT networks, has a portfolio of industrial-grade network equipment, network-core, operations and management software, and value-added applications.
 
Serving integrators, IT and IoT resellers, and telcos, IoTdc focuses on primary verticals such as agriculture, mining, smart cities, smart homes, retail, medicine, construction and manufacturing through pre-defined and tested bundles of hardware and software. 
 
As part of the global expansion in the deployment of IoT technologies, the Middle East and Africa region is expected to show sector spending growth from $8.47bn in 2019 to nearly $18bn by 2023, according to IDC. Spending will be led by the big-four countries in the region – South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE.
 
“South Africa is a logical and strategic addition to Kerlink’s growing international footprint, which includes more than 120,000 IoT installations in 69 countries,” said Romain Weryk, Kerlink’s key account manager. “With IoTdc’s focus on providing technology integrators and resellers with a single-window distribution platform to access quality-verified connected devices specifically designed for vertical markets, and to support services quickly, reliably and seamlessly, IoTdc will be a strong partner for Kerlink in the region.”
 
Theo Barnard, IoTdc’s head of product, added: “IoTdc thoroughly tests all of our suppliers’ products before presenting them to our channel partners. Kerlink’s portfolio of hardware and software clearly lived up to its global reputation for reliability, flexibility and durability. As both a pioneer in the introduction of M2M and IoT connectivity and a recognised leading provider of world-class equipment and software, Kerlink’s formal entry into the South Africa market is good news for companies that are eager to design and deploy IoT networks customised to meet their specific needs.”
 
More than 120,000 Kerlink installations have been rolled out with more than 330 clients in 69 countries. Based in France, with subsidiaries in the USA, Singapore, India and Japan, Kerlink is a founding and board member of the LoRa Alliance and the uCIFI Alliance.