Obi Mobiles is set to tap into Africa’s emerging markets with the launch of its Android Smartphones in the continent. The company has announced it would launch smartphones in Africa starting from Kenya.
Obi Mobiles is a venture of InflexionPoint; a Toronto based Investment and Acquisition company. Obi Mobile is co-founded by veteran marketer, John Sculley which is more famous for his role as the Apple CEO in the 1980s (1983 to 1993). The brand is basically aimed at providing smartphones in emerging markets with a particular focus on India.
Speaking on the launch John Sculley stated:
“The African markets present a huge opportunity for new smartphone devices, with a growing population of technology and fashion-savvy youth. Consumers today want the best feature-rich smartphone experience at desirable price points, without compromising on quality.”
The smartphones to be unveiled are yet to be announced but the statement did reveal they would run on Android Kitkat OS and feature large screen sizes, multi core processor plus an octa-core processor option, camera options and Dual SIM functionality.
“We are charting out our entry into the East Africa market currently, and aim to rapidly grow in the region by forging synergies with effective channel partners,”
Obi Mobiles Middle East and Africa region Managing Director Amit Rupchandani Commented.
The smartphone would be available in Kenya by March and once the company achieves to attain 5percent of the market share by the end of the year before it moves on to other East African countries. Even though the statement keeps mentioning East Africa, it is very likely the devices would be available throughout the continent including Nigeria and South Africa.
Inflexionpoint has signed a deal with DESPEC – a regional IT distributor which will ensure that Obi devices is made available to Independent and Key retailers in Kenya and other African markets.
Commenting on the new development, Farouk Jivani, CEO DESPEC Africa said;
“DESPEC is excited to be appointed as the exclusive channel partner for Obi Mobiles in Kenya and other East African markets. Obi has paid special attention to creating an image that resounds with the large section of young and inspirational smartphone users in Africa,”
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We will just have to see how Obi Mobiles intends to battle it out with already available brands such as Tecno, Samsung, Blackberry, Infinix, Lumia and Feature phones dominate. Head over to our Obi Mobiles section to see some of the smartphones which could debut in Africa.
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