Charmingthe Continent
A little-known Chinese smartphone brand punches above its weight in Africa’s promising mobile market
NOT many Chinese people have heard of Tecno. But in many African countries, the Chinese brand has become a key player in the local booming mobile market. In Dar es Salaam’s hectic downtown Kariakoo Market in Tanzania, advertisements of Tecno products - a leading brand of Transsion Holdings Ltd. - are seen everywhere.
“Almost identical electrical stores display the same poster of Tecno’s most popular products. Huge billboards of the Chinese smartphone brand also dot the streets,” said Tobenna Ekwealor, a Tanzanian networking engineer.
Statistics from China’s General Administration of Customs show that as of 2016, Transsion had secured about 40 percent of the African mobile market, outcompeting much bigger companies like Huawei, Xiaomi and Samsung. The mobile manufacturer, based in Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong Province, ranked 14th in the top 100 African consumers’ favorite brands in 2016, in front of France’s Orange and the UK’S Vodaphone, according to South African magazine
Liu Junjie, Tecno Chief Marketing Officer, said that the reasons for Tecno’s popularity are threefold: the company listens to the market, understands customers’ needs and provides the right solutions accordingly. “That’s why we have been enjoying such great success in Africa.” 55.6 million handsets to overseas markets. In comparison, the number for Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, was 41.5 million units, according to data from General Administration of Customs of China.
Over the last decade, the company has developed a global sales network in more than 40 countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Egypt. In 2011, it also built the first smartphone plant in Africa, to help speed up product delivery and lower costs.
Its success highlights how a small firm with a low capital was able to charm the African market by leveraging its accurate brand positioning, sophisticated innovative features and localized manufacturing capacity.