Tanzania to start assembling smartphones, home appliances
What you need to know:
Tanzania will start manufacturing own mobile phones, power banks and computers after IPP Limited announced the launch of an assembly plant to manufacture the appliances locally.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania will start assembling locally smartphones, computers, power banks and household appliances after IPP Limited said that it has partnered with Dubai-based Touchline to set up an assembly plant.
The assembly work is scheduled to start in three months time at a facility located at Mikocheni Industrial Area in Dar es Salaam.
IPP executive chairman Reginald Mengi (pictured) said the assembly plant was in the final stages of construction. He said this was aimed at supporting government’s drive of industrialising the economy. “As for pricing, we’ll make sure that the ranges are within what Tanzanians can afford, and yet the items will be of a high quality,” he said when introducing officials of the partner firm.
He said the prices for smartphones assembled at the plant would range between Sh80,000 and Sh200,000 and that one of the feature they considered was ensuring that the batteries were durable by retaining charge for up to seven days. “We want to help people residing in rural ares that are not electrified yet, hence the long life battery is what they need,” he said.
He said the plant will also assemble mobile phones which will have the capacity of charging other mobile phones.
Touchline chief executive officer Vasant Meghani said the new plant would automatically cut imports of mobile phones and home appliances as they will be made locally.
“This is part of our business expansion philosophy and we hope that we will generate a number of jobs among Tanzanians,” he said.
