The East Africa Devices Assembly has revealed it sold 360,000 locally made smartphones a year after it launched operations.
- East Africa Devices Assembly was launched in October 2023 and seeks to increase smartphone affordability in Kenya
- The Machakos-based plant partnered with local mobile phone operators to sell smartphones at KSh 7,500 each
- Through the Lipa Mdogo Mdogo programme, Kenyans pay a deposit of KSh 1,000 to get the phone and pay KSh 20 per day to clear the remaining balance
The assembly plant in Athi River, Machakos county, was launched in October 2023 by the government, local mobile operators, and international device manufacturers.
It seeks to increase phone affordability, develop assembly capability, create employment opportunities, and contribute to the broader economy.
“To date, 360,000 devices have been sold, valued at KSh 21 billion. The government reduced the costs of importing some of the components, enabling a reduction of the cost of a smartphone by 30%,” the Kenya Digital Economy Report stated.
In May 2023, Safaricom announced plans to set up the plant and estimated it would produce three million affordable smartphones annually.
President William Ruto said after a meeting with stakeholders they agreed that the phone would retail at KSh 7,500.
Ruto noted that Safaricom and other stakeholders will allow Kenyans to pay a deposit of KSh 1,000 to get the phone and pay KSh 20 per day to clear the remaining balance.
Safaricom chief executive officer Peter Ndegwa noted that the smartphone will be part of the Lipa Mdogo Mdogo programme and revealed it sold over 1.2 million smartphone devices through its Lipa Mdogo Mdogo initiative.
In its 2024 sustainability report, the telecommunications company announced that it had added five new devices to the programme in partnership with Meta, Google, and M-Kopa Solar.
The telco explained that Meta’s involvement in the Lipa Mdogo Mdogo initiative allows customers to purchase 4G smartphones with daily instalments as low as $0.20 (KSh 25), addressing affordability barriers for low-income users.
