It’s no secret that Microsoft’s Windows 8 Phones have been selling poorly, along with their tablets and the operating system as a whole. This was expected on Microsoft’s part and the company acknowledged from the get go that it would have to fight an uphill battle. Now Microsoft is looking to blitz Africa before its rivals Google and Apple come to dominate the market. Will this tactic help Microsoft finally gain the market share it desperately needs or is this simply a last ditch effort of a failed undertaking?

Microsoft has partnered with Huawei to launch a so-called Windows Phone 4Afrika” campaign. Huawei has been one of the few smart phone companies to successfully carve out a niche in the shadows of Apple and Sumsung. Huawei has been able to do this by targeting lower income segments of the smart phone market and focusing efforts on emerging markets. Huawei has now become the world’s third largest smart phone vendor though claims only 5% of the market share. Further, most Huawei phones rely on Google Android, not Microsoft’s Windows.

The Windows Phone 4Afrika phone is no “clunk of junk” either, featuring a slim industrial design, 4 inch touch screen and plenty of battery power, essential given the sporadic availability of electricity across the continent. The phone also features a 1.2 GhZ processor and 4 GB of memory. While the phone certainly is no match for the latest iPhone or Samsung Galaxy it should prove to have enough computing to create a solid user experience.

Microsoft and Huawei are on record stating that they hope to sell millions of Windows phones in the coming years. With Africa’s economy surging due to rising demand for its natural resources and even nascent low-labor manufacturing industries this may not be too far fetched. Still, should Africa prove lucrative Apple and Google will most likely look to enter the market and could crowd Microsoft out.

So far smart phone penetration in Africa remains low at an estimated 10% of the mobile phone market. This also means that Google and Apple do not yet dominate the market. Reportedly, many of the smart phones sold on the markets are second hand phones shipped from other countries though no official statistics are available. Part of Microsoft’s strategy appears to stem from the desire to establish a strong-hold in at least one market.

Microsoft won’t be the first company to try this strategy. Blackberry has been clinging to success in Indonesia and other emerging markets as Google and Apple have come to dominant the mobile phone market in the United States, Europe, and more advanced Asian nations. Still as Blackberry’s continued decline proves gaining a major market presence in emerging markets can’t stave off decline in advanced markets for long.

So far Windows Phone 8 has been well-reviewed by many tech websites and consumers alike but market penetration remains low. Microsoft currently owns 5.4% of the market in Europe. Windows phones are now also the third most popular smart phones in the U.S. but Microsoft holds only 2.7% of the market share while the rest of the market is essentially split between Google and Apple. While these numbers are nothing more than paltry when compared with Apple and Google, they have been growing and showing some signs of momentum.

Only time with tell if Microsoft’s “4Afrika” campaign will pay off but unless the software company and its allies are able to convince consumers in more advanced markets Windows Phone may end up flopping anyways. So far the Windows 8 operating system for tablets and PCs has flopped, barely gaining 2.7% through 2012. If Microsoft is not able to turn the corner quickly it risks falling even further behind its rivals and no amount of market penetration in Africa or other emerging markets will be able to single handily turn the tide.