East African countries had been taking no chances in pushing forward their technology development. Rwanda had launched the Mara Smartphone—the first African-made smartphone—and soon after, Uganda followed with the establishment of the SIMI mobile assembly plant.
Many people had already heard about Simi Mobile, the Chinese mobile phone manufacturer that had recently opened a new assembly facility in Namanve, within the Ugandan Industrial Park. This plant became the first of its kind in the country, marking a milestone for Uganda’s tech ambitions.
SIMI Mobile’s headquarters were located in Shenzhen, China, widely known as the country’s Silicon Valley. The company’s CEO, Mr. Chow Yuqing, had founded the brand after spending ten years working with several domestic Chinese mobile phone suppliers.
By 2013, Mr. Chow had expanded his business into Africa. At the time—and even now—the continent remained the largest market for Chinese mobile phones outside China. SIMI Mobile’s biggest competitor continued to be Transsion Holdings, the parent company of Tecno, Itel, and Infinix. In Africa, SIMI first opened an assembly plant in Ethiopia, where it began producing devices for the regional market.
A few months back, SIMI Mobile widened its African presence once again by partnering with Engo Holdings Uganda to begin local assembly in Uganda. The plant was officially launched in November and was set up to assemble mobile phones, smartphones, and even laptops.
There was, however, a limitation: SIMI initially focused on producing feature phones, with smartphones planned for later. The hope had been that local production would eventually drive smartphone prices down. Still, competition across the African continent was—and remains—intense. SIMI would need to devise strategic ways to attract customers and persuade them to adopt or upgrade to the brand. For now, all eyes remained on how the company’s story would unfold.