Proudly SA Company Partners With Google to Create its Own Smartphone
Cellphones are a daily part of our lives. In fact, we rely on our phones almost as much as electricity and other basic needs.
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Technology has become an integral part of our lives and companies selling mobile phones are making serious bank - it is no wonder the government wants SA to get a piece of the pie.
Source: Getty Images
A multi-billion rand industry
The cellphone industry is racking up billions every year with its sales. According to statista, in the year 2020 alone, the global revenue from cellphone sales amounted to 409.1 billion U.S. dollars.
In 2019, more than 15 billion mobile phones were sold globally and the number continues to climb. In May, Communications and Digital Technologies minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams urged South African companies to start developing their own mobile phones and other tech products in the ICT Special Economic zone.
According to Business Tech, the minister wants local companies to focus on the manufacturing of the following:
- Phones and accessories;
- Manufacturing of components for infrastructure / 5G network expansion;
- Sensors and telematics – which includes lidar;
- Smart metres for water and electricity and other tracking applications;
- Satellites and drone components.
Briefly News spoke to Sylvester Taku, Managing Director of Mara Phones South Africa, a subsidiary of Mara Corporation, a proudly African brand and company that has been working on the continent for over two decades, to find out his views on a local company throwing its hat in the ring.
Mara Phones is spearheaded by Ashish J. Thakkar, and for the past six years, they have moved from a vision, through the ideation phase, technical research and development (R&D), prototyping and proof of concept, through to the realisation of that vision in October 2019 with the proud commissioning of two purpose-built, state-of-the-art smartphone manufacturing facilities in Kigali, Rwanda and Durban, South Africa – the first of their kind anywhere in Africa.
However, despite taking the first steps to build a proudly local smartphone, the company has faced several challenges that make it difficult to compete with the popular global products. One of the struggles Mara Phones faced was the Covid-19 pandemic. The company launched in Mzansi only four months before the lockdown.
Taku explained that during the initial level 5 lockdown, cellphones weren't classified as essential goods and were therefore not sold. The 21-day lockdown put the brakes on their plans and stalled the activation of some of their programmes.
The pandemic is not the only obstacle, though. The company is trying to enter a very competitive market that has well-established brands. Taku added that despite the challenges, they have made "significant in-roads into the South African market and is set to become a challenger brand and a contender for market share in the South African market."
Taku believes South African companies have what it takes to become real competitors in the smartphone industry.
He said:
"With emphasis on Mara Phones as a local manufacturer, we have not only invested in our own state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, but we have also rigorously selected the best-inclass strategic supply chain partners. We source the same raw materials as those used in premium models, ensuring consistent and uncompromising performance and reliability.
"We have also partnered with Google and have invested significantly in our customized OS build and configuration for optimum results and enhanced performance."
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The government has encouraged local companies to build their own products, but Taku believes there are certain things they can do to help make the project a success. He listed several ways the government can assist the proudly SA tech businesses:
• Facilitate reduced rentals or property ownership deals within the SEZ to attract more tenants with preference given to clustering • On-board new ICT manufacturing companies within Dube TradePort SEZ in order to facilitate the creation of an ICT Cluster • Extend exemption on tax salaries • Extend timelines mentioned in the 12i Incentive to take into account the effects of Covid-19 • Extend the 12R incentives which expires in principle in 2026 (10 years of DTP being a SEZ) • Increase customs duty on smartphones imported in SA
The initiative could mean great things for the economy, especially following the devastating effects of the pandemic.
Taku explained:
"Global manufacturing powerhouses have threatened local manufacturing in most countries, further eroding the benefits for other players along the value chain within our country. Local manufacturing of smartphones and other tech products is critical for the South African economy, especially in the backdrop of Covid-19, to reactivate the economy and stimulate the job market.
"The domination of local companies in the smartphone and tech sector will further drive innovation and create local supplier networks, which will increase the number of players within the value chain."
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Source: Briefly News
