This archive report was first published on 8 October 2019.
Rwanda's Mara Group has made history by launching the first 'Made in Africa' smartphones, the Mara X and Mara Z, on October 7, 2019, in Kigali, Rwanda.
The Mara X and Mara Z smartphones, which use Google's Android operating system, are priced at 175,750 Rwandan francs (approximately Sh19,000) and 120,250 Rwandan francs (approximately Sh13,000) respectively.
According to Mara Group CEO Ashish Thakkar, the company is targeting customers who are willing to pay more for quality, and the Mara X and Mara Z are designed to compete with Samsung and non-branded phones in the market.
Thakkar stated that Mara Group is the first smartphone manufacturer in Africa, and the company has invested $24 million (approximately Sh2.4 billion) in the plant, which has the capacity to produce 1,200 phones per day.
The Mara Group hopes to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, a 55-nation trade bloc, to boost sales across Africa.
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame expressed his hope that the Mara phones will increase smartphone usage in the country, which currently stands at around 15%.
“Rwandans are already using smartphones but we want to enable many more. The introduction of Mara phones will put smartphones ownership within reach of more Rwandans,” Kagame said.
