By Dominique DesaunayPosted on 09-10-2019Modified on 09-10-2019 at 10:22
For the first time, smart mobiles manufactured in factories in Rwanda will be marketed by Mara Group. The country hopes to become a real technological pole in Africa in the fields of telecoms and high-tech.
With an estimated population of 1.4 billion by 2021 and a continent that will put about one billion smartphones in circulation by two years, Africa is becoming a key marketplace for all the telecom companies on the planet. Created by the millionaire Ashish Thakkar and based in Kigali, the company Mara Group officially inaugurated on Oct. 7 its first production plant of 100% African smartphones .
PHOTO: "Our world is changing fast. Keeping pace requires constant innovation. This is the path of the world. "President Kagame remarks at the official launch of Mara Phones manufacturing plant. To view more pictures https://t.co/X7dH2DNeJd #MadeinRwanda pic.twitter.com/IpbRohc5ZW
Presidency | Rwanda (@UrugwiroVillage) October 7, 2019Rwanda plans to produce 1,200 " high-quality, affordable " smartphones a day and the first mobiles are already coming out of the assembly lines. The numerous companies in Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria and South Africa are assembling smartphones for major global telephony companies.
" True brand from the continent "
" We manufacture the motherboards, we build the sub cards throughout the process. There are more than a thousand pieces by phone, "said Ashish Thakkar at the inauguration of the plant, recalling that" the MaraPhone is a real brand from the continent that corresponds to the uses of African mobile users . "
Why is this a big step forward? Because we are stimulating our industry, we create tens and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Rwanda: Ashish Thakkar unveils MaraGroup's first "Made in Africa" smartphones
09-10-2019 - By RFI
For the moment, two models come out of the Rwandan production lines: the Mara X with a 5.5-inch screen and the Mara Z with a more powerful processor, with a 5.7-inch HD display. Both smartphones are equipped with the Android operating system with its attendant applications. The X version is sold 175 750 Rwandan francs, or 173 euros and the Z costs the equivalent of 118 euros.
" Africans are willing to pay a little more for a Made In Africa quality smartphone," says Thakkar. The CEO of Mara Group hopes to give a boost to the ambitions of Rwanda, which intends to become a center of technological excellence throughout the region.
► READ ALSO : Internet, the ten most connected countries in Africa
On the same subject
Uganda accuses MTN of threatening national security
Mobilization against overly expensive telecommunications continues in the DRC
Attacks on the Kenyan telecom: Somali society is singled out
Internet: Africa's 10 most connected countries
Towards a single telephone network in Africa
Telecommunications: Orange pursues its conquest of Africa
comments