The smartphones have gone into production at plants in Kigali and Durban.
Established by Mara, a business group headed by Ashish Thakkar, the factories will manufacture ‘made-in-Africa’ devices.
While other smartphone factories exist on the continent, they import parts and assemble them.
Said Thakkar: ‘We are actually the first who are doing manufacturing. We are making the motherboards, (and) we are making the sub-boards during the entire process.’
The Kigali facility was opened on 7 October, with its Durban counterpart following ten days later. President Ramaphosa was on hand to open the Durban facility. While he was on a tour of the factory – which lasted about 15 minutes – a smartphone was assembled for him.
President Ramaphosa indicated that the investment represented the fruits of his investment summit last year, at which Thakkar had pledged some R1.5bn for this project.
Demand for such devices is growing in Africa. When the Kigali plant was opened, it was noted that Mara’s offerings were somewhat more expensive than some imported competitors but it was said that Mara was targeting those ‘willing to pay more for quality’.
Mara is based in Dubai. Thakkar himself was born in the United Kingdom to parents with roots in Uganda, and he has lived in East Africa for much of his life. In 2014, he explained that Dubai is better connected to the outside world – and to Africa – than cities in Africa. It was also far easier to obtain visas for employees.
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