Kaspersky has appointed Chris Norton as its new General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa. With over three decades of IT industry experience, Norton is to drive Kaspersky’s expansion across the continent. This appointment underscores Africa’s importance for Kaspersky as a high-growth market and the company’s commitment to a forward-looking cybersecurity vision.
Kaspersky has been operating on the continent since 2009 and has placed a strong focus on Africa. In 2024, Kaspersky’s business in Africa achieved standout performance, with consumer (B2C) sales up 36% and enterprise (B2B) sales up 10% year-on-year. This contributed to an overall regional sales growth of 19%, outpacing many other regions of the world. These results emphasise Africa’s status as a strategic growth market for Kaspersky, fuelled by increasing Internet penetration, a flourishing fintech sector, and rising cybersecurity awareness.
Chris Norton joins Kaspersky with extensive experience in building technology businesses and brands across Sub-Saharan Africa, which was gained during his work for vendors such as IBM, Citrix, VMware, Servicenow, VCE, Dell EMC, and including previous regional leadership roles at Hitachi Vantara and Veeam. As General Manager for Africa, Norton, based in Johannesburg, aims to accelerate growth in both consumer and enterprise segments, strengthen Kaspersky’s channel ecosystem, and champion the brand’s cybersecurity education initiatives.
“I am honoured to take on this role at a time when Africa’s digital landscape is rapidly evolving. My focus will be on empowering our customers and partners through cutting-edge innovation, local collaboration, and education. We are proud to deliver highest-level cybersecurity solutions to all types of customers – from individuals to industrial facilities, that not only protect against today’s cyber threats but also anticipate tomorrow’s challenges. We work with African organisations to embed cybersecurity at the core of their digital transformation so that security is an enabler of innovation rather than an afterthought,” says Chris Norton.
Strengthening partnerships and local cyber capacity
A core pillar of Kaspersky’s strategy in Africa is collaboration with
local partners and institutions to bolster cyber resilience. Kaspersky has
significantly expanded its regional partnerships – a trajectory that Chris
Norton plans to continue and deepen. At the end of last year, Kaspersky and the
African Union’s AFRIPOL (African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation) signed
a five-year cooperation agreement to jointly combat cybercrime. This partnership formalises threat
intelligence sharing between Kaspersky and AFRIPOL, enabling law enforcement
across African nations to access the latest data on cybercriminal activities.
It also includes Kaspersky providing expertise, technical training, and
“know-how” to AFRIPOL’s cybercrime units.
Kaspersky has also forged strategic alliances beyond law enforcement.
Earlier this year, the company signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with Smart Africa, a pan-African initiative driving
digital development across 30+ countries. This landmark partnership is designed
to expand cybersecurity capabilities throughout Africa.
Moreover, Kaspersky is investing in transparency and trust as it grows its
African presence. A significant step in this direction was the opening of
Kaspersky’s first Transparency Center in Africa – inaugurated in Kigali,
Rwanda in November 2023. Part of Kaspersky’s Global Transparency Initiative,
the Kigali Transparency Center allows partners, government stakeholders, and
clients to review Kaspersky’s source code, software updates, and threat
detection rules in a secure environment.
“Kaspersky has very strong global expertise in cybersecurity with
its award-winning solutions and threat intelligence services, as well as a
forward-looking approach to cybersecurity embedded in our Cyber Immunity
concept. Coupled with Chris Norton’s deep knowledge of the regional market and
cooperation with local partners, we believe we can deliver these solutions and
services to a larger number of customers and make the digital future in Africa
safer,” commented Toufic Derbass, Managing Director for the Middle
East, Türkiye and Africa (META) region at Kaspersky.
