⇓ More from ICTworks

Lessons Learned in Shipping ICT to Africa: LCD’s are TV’s and Keyboards are Musical Instruments

By Wayan Vota on November 19, 2010

At Inveneo, we’ve learned the hard way that getting information and communication technology equipment to different countries in Africa can be a challenge, but even we are surprised some days. Here’s an email we received from one of our Inveneo Certified ICT Partners about a recent shipment of computers:

On the import documentation, we declared the shipment as “computers”, which do not carry any duties. But when the customs agents read “LCD” on commercial invoice, they said LCD’s are televisions, which caries duty. Then they read “Keyboard” and said keyboards are on musical instruments, which also carries duty. We’ve protested the classifications and are waiting for a detailed inspection next week.

Yes, it sounds strange, but events like this are common when you ship technology to Africa. Luckily, Inveneo has developed a method to the freight forwarder madness that usually avoids issues like this. Wanna learn how we do it? Then watch this video:

But why worry about all this hassle? Work with an Inveneo Certified ICT Partner, and focus on your implementation, not equipment importation.

.

Get ICTworks 3x a week – enter your email address:

Filed Under: Hardware
More About:

Written by
Wayan Vota co-founded ICTworks. He also co-founded Technology Salon, MERL Tech, ICTforAg, ICT4Djobs, ICT4Drinks, JadedAid, Kurante, OLPC News and a few other things. Opinions expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of his employer, any of its entities, or any ICTWorks sponsor.
Stay Current with ICTworksGet Regular Updates via Email

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.