Türkiye’s Havelsan boosts Africa presence

Havelsan, a leading Turkish defense firm, seeks to bolster its presence in Africa by catering to the defense needs of “friendly and brotherly” African nations and forging strategic partnerships in line with Türkiye’s African Initiative vision, according to Havelsan General Manager Mehmet Akif Nacar.

Havelsan’s strategic moves in Africa

Despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, Havelsan embarked on its venture in Africa, intensifying marketing efforts through reciprocal visits and participation in regional fairs and conferences since 2019. Nacar highlighted the significant increase in brand recognition across various African countries as a result of these endeavors.

The company, known for its Turkish-made Baha unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), combat management systems, training systems, and simulators, aims to offer a wide range of products and solutions tailored to Africa’s defense requirements.

Nacar emphasized Havelsan’s commitment to providing projects and products in Africa, leveraging partnerships in Türkiye.

“We want to provide many projects in Africa, and we also offer our products through our partners in Türkiye. We sold a number of products such as Baha, Barkan (UAV) and shooting simulators,” he stated.

Notable exports include the Baha system and the Network Enabled Data Integrated Combat Management System (Advent), with Nigeria becoming the seventh country to receive Advent exports.

Highlighting Nigeria’s interest in Havelsan’s offerings, Nacar underscored the advantages of the Baha’s affordability and ease of use, expecting its adoption to serve as a model for other African countries.

“We believe that Baha will have a grip in the market thanks to the fact that it is a small system, has an affordable price and is easy to use,” Nacar underlined.

In anticipation of the growing fleet of Atak helicopters in Nigeria, Havelsan plans to provide Atak helicopter simulators in the near future.

Havelsan’s business development activities extend to various African countries, including Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Gambia, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Senegal and Cameroon. Nacar emphasized Nigeria’s genuine interest in Havelsan’s products, attributing it to past negative experiences with costly acquisitions and inadequate support.

Drawing on the historical ties between Türkiye and Nigeria, as well as Turkish Airlines’ daily flights to Nigeria, Nacar sees ample opportunities for Havelsan to expand its business in the region.

“We see very genuine interest in Nigeria because they are very fed up with previous bad experiences such as buying at a much expensive cost, not being able to get maintenance support, or getting it too expensive and not being able to use the system properly,” he highlighted.

Looking ahead, Nacar expressed optimism about Africa’s economic potential and the prospects for cultural and economic cooperation, envisioning Africa as a key player in the global economy.