Africa’s first smartphone
factory opens its doors
in Kigali as the Mara
Phone aims to become
a leading brand across
the continent.
Mara Phone, a smartphone by the
pan-African conglomerate Mara
Group, has opened its first factory
in Rwanda as the company hopes
to pioneer a brand of African-made
smartphones.
Located in Kigali’s special econom-
ic zone, the factory employees over
200 people to manufacture high-tech
smartphones for the local market and
further afield.
With two models on sale for $159
and $229, the Android phones are
hoping to compete with Asian man-
ufacturers like Tecno and Samsung
who currently dominate Africa’s
markets.
Speaking at the launch, CEO
Ashish Thakkar, said: “We realised a
few years ago that to create positive
social impact on our continent and
in emerging markets we need to have
high quality and affordable smart-
phones. That’s when we came up with
Mara Phones.”
Smartphone penetration in Rwanda
currently stands at around 15% with
the most basic Tecno and Samsung
models sold at $40 and $70 respec-
tively.
The bulk of the market is charac-
terised by feature phones which use
USSD technology to access digital
services; a general trend across the
continent
At a considerably higher price, crit-
ics are skeptical the Mara Phone will
make a dent in the local market.
Yet thanks to partnerships with
local banks and telecommunications
firms, the Mara Group have created a
finance model which allows users to
pay for their phones over a period of
two years.
Opening the ceremony, Rwandan
President Paul Kagame commended
the drive towards affordable smart-
phones and underlined the need
to boost the adoption of high-tech
products in his country.
“The smartphone is no longer a
luxury item, it is rapidly becoming a
requirement of everyday life,” he said.
“That trend is bound to increase in
the years to come as more and more
services migrate to digital platforms.
We want to enable many more Rwan-
dans to use smartphones. The cost
and quality is very important and the
introduction of Mara Phones will put
smartphone ownership within reach
of more Rwandans.”
The Mara Group has a long history
in Rwanda thanks to its 20% stake in
the pan-African banking group Atlas
Mara, which was co-founded in 2013
by Thakkar and the former CEO of
Barclays Bob Diamond.
In 2015, the group acquired a major-
ity share in the Banque Populaire du
Rwanda.
Atlas Mara is now scaling back its
pan-African ambitions through a
share swap with the rapidly expand-
ing Kenyan lender, Equity Bank.
The Nairobi-based commercial
bank acquired 100% of Atlas Mara’s
operations in Zambia, Mozambique
and Tanzania along with 62% of the
Banque Populaire du Rwanda.
Thakkar described his new factory
as “historic” due to its position as the
first smartphone manufacturing plant
on the continent.
“In Africa, we don’t manufacture
anything,” said Thakkar.
“We assemble in a few countries,
but we don’t manufacture anything.
We are the consumers but not the
producers. When we first told people
about Mara Phone they told us we
were crazy and that it wasn’t possible.
Our true belief in Africa, particularly
Rwanda, is a dream come true. This
is a historic moment which will help
shift the narrative for Rwanda, Africa
and the rest of the world.”
