Tecno, a name without any presence in Chinese smart phone industry and seldom did any Chinese hear of, has a dominant place in markets across Africa. Barely known in China and the West, Transsion, mother company to Tecno, has outpaced global key players like Apple, SamSung, Huawei to grab the largest market share in a continent that’s home to over one billion people
In China, Transsion doesn’t own any brick and mortar store, neither does it sell online. The only presence it has in China is the skyrocketed headquarters in Shenzhen – the Silicon Valley of China. The brand is out shadowed and hides unnoticed among the key players of well-known Chinese smart phone brands. However, in the far-away continent of Africa, the advertisements of Tecno are everywhere and you can find the bright blue shop fronts of Transsion basically in every busy street in cities such as Nairobi, Lagos, etc.
The company adopted a completely different strategy to outperform established Chinese smartphone brands like ZTE, Huawei and Xiaomi, which have strong presences deeply rooted in Chinese smart phone markets.
From the early beginning, Transsion’s mission is to be based in Africa and it has no plans in Chinese market.
Founder of Transsion, George Zhu, has spent about a decade in Africa taking care of the overseas business for another Chinese mobile phone company Bird that was in the heyday. It’s at that time he realized selling smartphones produced for developed markets to Africa was a completely fatal mistake. In the mid 2000s, with the Chinese government’s “Going Out” initiative, entrepreneurs were encouraged to go out and foster stronger ties especially with African countries. In 2006, Tecno was founded in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. With the motto “think global, act local”, the brand strived to deliver what African consumers want and ranked as popular phones in Africa .
Key strategies Tecno adopted to assimilate into African smart phone markets.
1. Affordable cost
Affordable pricing is the key to enter African markets with an average monthly wage in Ethiopia of around $80 and no contract phones available. Transsion’s phones are sold under $200, with average at around $90, making them the king of budget smart phone in Africa.
2. Perfect selfie
The cameras of Tecno phones are specially enhanced for African complexions, adjusting more light for darker skin, face beautifying function, etc, making them staples especially for girls who always want the perfect looks.
3. Long battery life
In some less developed regions of Africa, electricity was constantly shut off to preserve power, longer battery life is an added bonus and most Tecno phones can last 24 hours even being used non-stop.
4. Multiple SIM cards
In Africa a great many of people used to bring multiple SIM cards with them since the fees varied if the calls were from different networks, and they couldn’t afford two phones. Tecno phones with multiple inbuilt SIM cards, to a great extent, saved all the hassles and awkwardness of swapping cards.
5. Music App
Music, the soul of Africa, is one of the key factors Transsion strives to enhance on every of its smart phone. Boomplay, a music app developed by Lagos rapper Oye Akideinde, is now the default music player in every Tecno phone and has about 32 million users.
6. Create local jobs
In the outskirt of Addis Ababa, Transsion has set up its assembly with 10,000 local employees. The low labor costs of African employees not only keep the smartphones available, but also appeal to Africa consumers as they’re smart phones made in Africa.
7. Down play Chinese roots
Since its founding, Transsion has called Africa home and has no plan in China. There isn’t any sign or character of being a Chinese brand. It was ranked as the 7th admirable brand in Africa in 2017-2018 according to African Business magazine.
The Chinese smart phone brand in Africa has never ceased to progress with its continuously opening of research and development centers in China, Nigeria and Kenya to enhance the performance of their smartphones.
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