The survey took place in 11 African countries: Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda.
 
A release distributed by African Press Organization (APO)  for Schneider Electric said more than 500 "high level" officials and professionals were contacted by 37 African trained investigators. They answered a total of 8.185 questions.
 
“For the first time, all stakeholders of the African electrical market will be able to move forward, based on a solid picture of reality,” says Tracy Garner, Anti-Counterfeiting Global Manager.
 
Based on the results, the first conclusion is that counterfeiting of most common electrical products is widely spread in all African countries, representing 40 to 80 percent of their markets.
 
This includes cables, breakers, sockets, switches and extension cords, which are the five most counterfeit electrical products (in that order).
 
China remains the main source of electrical counterfeit goods entering the continent (75% of the answers) followed by the rest of the Asian countries.
Locally manufactured counterfeits originate mostly from Tanzania, Nigeria and Ivory Coast.
LINA