Kaspersky Lab, a global cybersecurity and anti-virus provider, has announced plans to open a new office in Kigali, Rwanda, to support the rapid growth of its business in East Africa. This strategic move will provide more room for development as well as closer proximity to new partners in the region, allowing the company to further its expansion into the region.

The move was made during the recent visit by Eugene Kaspersky, the firm's CEO, to Rwanda, where he met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the Transform Africa Summit. The two discussed how Kaspersky Lab could collaborate with the Rwandan government and ways to better protect the country from cyberthreats.

"Governments and enterprises across Africa need an integrated approach to complex threat detection and response as they fight cybercriminals who have significant financial resources and are constantly looking to exploit any vulnerability," said the CEO.

The Kigali office will serve the regional market. "We see great potential in the African market, especially with the current digital transformation initiatives that are in place. Nations across the continent are adopting new technologies to facilitate and enhance the way they do business. While a few years ago it was enough to have a strategy to prevent infection, today businesses have to be able to detect when they are infected or hacked, predict hacker behavior and respond to attacks quickly to ensure minimal damage and impact. We can provide support in achieving this," said Amir Kanaan, the managing director at Kaspersky Lab for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa.

Kaspersky Lab operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe. The new office in Kigali will be the 36th representative office the company has worldwide.