Rwanda Launches First Made in Africa Smartphones – Mara X & Z

Rwanda’s Mara Group have launched two smartphones, describing them as the first “Made in Africa” models and giving a boost to the country’s ambitions to become a regional technology hub.

The all new Mara smartphone will compete with the like of Samsung, whose cheapest smartphone costs 50,000 Rwandan francs ($54), and non-branded phones at 35,000 Rwandan francs ($37). Mara Group CEO Ashish Thakkar said it was targeting customers willing to pay more for quality.

“This is the first smartphone manufacturer in Africa,” Thakkar told Reuters after touring the company alongside Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame.

Companies assemble smartphones in Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria and South Africa, but import the components, he said.

“We are actually the first who are doing manufacturing. We are making the motherboards, we are making the sub-boards during the entire process,” he said. “There are over 1,000 pieces per phone.”

The plant had cost $24 million and could make 1,200 phones per day.

Mara Group hopes to profit from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, a pact aimed at forming a 55-nation trade bloc, to boost sales across Africa, Thakkar said.

The agreement is due to begin trading in July next year, aiming to unite 1.3 billion people and create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc. But it is still in the very early stages and no timelines have been agreed for abolishing tariffs.

Kagame said he hoped the phone would increase Rwanda’s smartphone usage, currently at around 15%.

“Rwandans are already using smartphones but we want to enable many more. The introduction of Mara phones will put smartphones ownership within reach of more Rwandans,”

Mara X Specification

Display	Type	IPS LCD
	Size	5.5″ HD
	Resolution	720*1440 (18:9)
	Protection	Gorilla Glass
Platform	Operating System	Android 8.1 Oreo GO Edition
	Chipset	MediaTek MT 6739
	CPU	Octa-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53
	GPU	PowerVR GE8100
Memory	RAM	1GB
	Internal	16GB
	External	Expandable storage via MicroSD
Network	Technology	4G LTE with VoLTE and ViLTE, VoWi-Fi
	SIM	Dual SIM
Camera	Main	13 MP with phase detection autofocus, LED flash
	Front	5 MP
Battery	Size	3500mAh
	Type	Li-Ion
Colors		Black, Gold, Blue
Features		Fingerprint reader (rear-mounted), Dolby Audio 5.1

Mara Z Specification

Display	Type	IPS LCD
	Size	5.7″ HD
	Resolution	720*1440 (18:9)
	Protection	Gorilla Glass
Platform	Operating System	Android One
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8940 Snapdragon 435
	CPU	Octa-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53
	GPU	PowerVR GE8100
Memory	RAM	3GB
	Internal	32GB
	External	Expandable storage via MicroSD upto 256GB
Network	Technology	4G LTE with VoLTE and ViLTE, VoWi-Fi
	SIM	Dual SIM
Camera	Main	13 MP with phase detection autofocus, LED flash
	Front	13MP
Battery	Size	3075mAh
	Type	Li-Ion
Colors		Black, Gold, Grey
Features		Fingerprint reader (rear-mounted), Dolby Audio 5.1, face unlock

Mara X and Mara Z Price And Availability

The Mara X cost 175,750 Rwandan francs ($190) and Mara Z cost 120,250 Rwandan francs ($130) respectively.

At the moment, Mara X and Mara Z are available in Rwanda, South Africa and Dubai, however, if you wish to get one for yourself you can easily order for any of the device from the company’s official website.

What do you think about the all new Rwanda smartphones (Mara phones)? share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Source: Reuters