After taking over China, tech giant wants some African action

folarin okunola

August 24, 2015 1:57 PM

The company has also partnered with Mobile in Africa to serve as its distributor and partner across sub-Saharan Africa.

Xiaomi MiNote

Various media reports reveal that Xiaomi has announced plans to launch its range of smartphones in Africa by September.

According to Forbes, the company has also partnered with Mobile in Africa to serve as its distributor and partner across sub-Saharan Africa.

READ: Chinese tech giant partners with Olympic champion to launch smart sneakers

Mobile in Africa is led by RJ van Spaandonk who is also the executive director of Core Group; an Apple distributor in 14 sub-Saharan countries in Africa.

Xiaomi has developed a model that works across emerging markets; the Chinese tech giant sells its smartphone with a low profit margin and makes the real profit off software sales.

The company knows the potential of the Africa market and will be capitalizing on it to offset the emergence of Android One recently launched in Africa by Google.

“There is a great need for mobile technology in Africa that is of top-notch quality but still affordable. What I found in Xiaomi is a company, and a business model, that can accommodate the needs of African consumers,” Van Spaandonk said, according to TechCabal.

Xiaomi will reportedly be presenting two smartphones at its African launch and the devices will be the Red Mi 2 set for $160 and the Mi 4 which will go for $320.

Established in 2010, Xiaomi already has a tight hold on China’s smartphone market and recently delved into India.

READ: Chinese smartphone maker launches new devices to put fear in Samsung

The International Data Corporation named Xiaomi the third largest smartphone maker in the world, behind powerhouses like Samsung and Apple in global smartphone sales last year. Not bad for a five year old company.

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folarin okunola