The US technology company, CTI Africa has announced plans to set up a phone assembly plant in Uganda next year.
According to TheEastAfrican the trading arm of the company, LifeMobile says the new plant will serve the African market.
LifeMobile reportedly is ready to invest $10 million into the project. It has also agreed that the project will be supervised by Uganda’s National Enterprise Corporation (NEC).
Uganda hopes having the new assembling plant will help reduce the number of mobile phone imports.
Smart phones for Ugandans
An official of the Uganda’s National Enterprise Corporation James Katongana told TheEastAfrican that the phones will have localised applications.
These applications are intended to solve local problems including weather forecast, insurance, healthcare and financial services.
Katongana is reported as saying that three smartphone models — low range, mid-range and a tablet are to be assembled starting next January.
“The market prices are not yet set, but when the phones reach the market early next year, they will compete with the ones already there. Because they are locally manufactured, they will be protected,” Mr Katongana said.
LifeMobile becomes the third foreign company seeking to start a smartphone assembly plant in Uganda.
There is already interest from China’s Xinlan Group, to take majority share in the struggling Uganda Telecommunication Ltd. It wants to invest $10 million into the company.
Another Chinese firm, Sim, which has already been allocated land to build a plant, TheEastAfrican reports.
Source: Africafeeds.com
