Learn about the Founding Partner Programme

Anyone can list Sophos in a portfolio.
Not everyone can sell it.

Most distributors in South Africa carry Sophos alongside dozens of other vendors. It sits in a catalogue. Your deal joins a queue. The person on the other end of the phone is covering five other vendors that week.

Climb is built differently. When we enter a market, we commit to a vendor properly – dedicated in-country team, real product expertise, a commercial model designed around scaling your Sophos business, and support built on decades of specialist distribution experience.

Specialists, not generalists

You’ll work with people who understand the Sophos portfolio, know how to position it, and can support a deal from first conversation to close. Not a generalist team managing a hundred vendor relationships at once.

We succeed when you succeed.

Our commercial model is straightforward: we grow when our partners grow. That means we’re invested in your pipeline, your deals, and your long-term Sophos revenue, not just the transaction in front of us.

In It for the Long Term.

This isn’t a market experiment. Climb’s expansion into South Africa is deliberate, planned, and backed by 40+ years of global distribution expertise. We’re here to stay.

Andrew Potgieter
Sales Directer

Danelize Pretorius
Internal Sales

Sacha van der Craght
Internal Sales

Karien Steinberg
Renewals Manager

Sonica Laing
Vendor Manager

Mark Roberts
Vendor Manager

We built the team before we took the first order

Most distributors enter a new market with a catalogue and a contact list. Climb did it differently.

Before Climb South Africa transacted a single deal, we had a local team in place. Sophos-certified. On the ground. Already building partner relationships. The commercial infrastructure came second – because without the right people behind it, you’re just another distributor with a price list.

Meet the Team

You’re not dealing with a remote sales desk. You’re dealing with local people.

Our South Africa team has been built specifically for this market. Sophos specialists with deep roots in the SA channel – known to the partner community, trusted by Sophos, and here to build lasting relationships with the partners who want to grow their Sophos business.

Here’s what partnering with Climb looks like

Rebates

Rebates are available for Sophos partners transacting through Climb in South Africa. Our team will walk you through exactly what your business qualifies for on your first call.¹

Early Payment Discounts

Cash flow matters. Partners who pay early benefit from meaningful discounts on their Sophos transactions. It’s a straightforward incentive to reward good commercial relationships.¹

Dedicated Deal Support

There’s no shared inbox, no automated quote system, and no generic support line with Climb. When you need a price, a proposal, or support on a deal, you’re talking to a specialist who knows the Sophos portfolio inside out, and we turn it around fast.

Collaborative Marketing

Climb partners invest in execution. Climb invests in expertise. We work alongside partners on campaigns, events, and lead generation programmes, providing dedicated marketing resource, planning, and execution support. If you’re building pipeline, we’re building it with you.

Climb’s AI Partner Program: The Skyward Project

Included for all Climb Sophos partners. Full access to Climb’s six-step AI programme, practical frameworks for linking Sophos AI capabilities to customer conversations, and thought leadership content partners can take directly to market. This is a differentiator your competitors aren’t offering their customers yet.

Those are the terms available to every Climb Sophos partner in South Africa. But for the partners who move first, there’s more.

The first 25 partners get something the rest won’t.

Climb & Sophos | Founding Partner Programme

The Founding Partner Programme is simple. Climb is building the leading Sophos distribution partnership in South Africa and we want the right partners alongside us from day one. Twenty-five places. Genuine commercial advantage.

We’re capping the Climb & Sophos South Africa Founding Partner Programme at 25 partners. This is how we ensure the partners who move early get the attention, commercial terms, and access that reflect that commitment.

STEP 1

Attend the Launch Webinar

Register for one of three sessions. Meet the team, understand the commercial model, and see exactly how Climb works as a Sophos distributor. Ask us anything.

What you get: Priority access to post-launch partner briefings. Early visibility of Climb & Sophos campaigns and activity planned for South Africa.

STEP 2

The Launch Celebration

Partners who attend the webinar are invited to a Climb & Sophos South Africa launch celebration – a virtual sundowner’s session with the team, a locally inspired welcome gift² delivered to your office, and informal time with Climb SA leadership.

STEP 3

Become a Founding Partner

Complete onboarding during the launch window and you’re formally recognised as one of Climb’s 25 South Africa Founding Partners.

What Founding Partners Receive

Commerical advantage

Rebate uplift as part of the Founding Partner programme¹
First access to marketing support
Priority Pipeline and Deal Registration Support

Your own named BDM for the first six months

Every Founding Partner gets a named point of contact for the first six months– someone who knows your pipeline, supports your quoting, and helps you close. From deal registration through to delivery. If you need to escalate, you know exactly who to call.

The Founding Partner Badge

Every Founding Partner receives official Climb & Sophos South Africa Founding Partner status – a digital badge for your own marketing, named recognition on Climb’s South Africa website, and a permanent place in the Climb SA launch journey.

The SA Cybersecurity Channel Report

At the close of year one, Climb will publish a South Africa Cybersecurity Channel Report – an independent, insight-led view of the SA Sophos channel and the market opportunity ahead. Founding Partners are interviewed as contributors. Your perspective, your brand, in a piece of content distributed across Climb and Sophos’s networks.

The Climb Summit Challenge

If Climb’s 25 Founding Partners collectively reach X ZAR in combined Sophos revenue within year one, Climb funds and hosts an exclusive in-person Summit event in South Africa for every Founding Partner.

Join a Climb & Sophos launch webinar

Ready to find out more?
Join our Launch Webinar!

We’re running the Climb & Sophos South Africa Launch Webinar on three different dates to fit around your schedule. Each session is the same – about 45 minutes, informal, and with plenty of time for questions.

Select a session below to register:

Session 1

May 19 – 11am

Session 2

May 27 – 11am

Session 3

June 4 – 11am

What we’ll cover:

The Climb Way – our model, our team, and what makes us a different kind of distributor
The Sophos opportunity in South Africa right now: MDR, AI, and where the deals are
How to onboard, transact, and grow your Sophos business through Climb
The Founding Partner Programme – terms, timeline, and how to apply

Attendance is required to qualify for Founding Partner status.

40+

Years of Specialist Distribution.
Now in South Africa.

7,200 Partners Supported Across North America and EMEA
100+ Vendors Represented Globally

Climb’s expansion into South Africa follows the same model that has delivered long‑term partner success across North America and EMEA. We don’t enter markets speculatively. We identify where we can add genuine value, and we build from the ground up.

As a Climb partner in South Africa, you’re not just working with a local team. Behind every deal is access to Climb’s global sales organisation, with 840+ collective years of experience built over more than a decade of Sophos distribution, 300,000+ Sophos orders processed, and deep, hands‑on involvement supporting a wide range of Sophos customer environments worldwide. This level of experience brings real confidence and consistency to partners operating in the South African market.

Partners who transact through Climb should be better supported, better enabled, and better positioned to grow than they were before. That’s the standard we’re held to.

Ready to get started?

Register your interest in the Founding Partner Programme

Three ways to get started.

Join our Launch Webinar

Join our Founding Partner Programme

Talk to the Team

¹Opportunity to earn rebates, depending on partner status and joint commercial planning with Climb.
² Founding Partner welcome gift is of nominal value, provided equally to all participating partners, and not conditional on sales or commercial commitment.

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