Tecno: Mobile Giant Behind Africa’s Growing Smartphone Adoption

In various mobile markets around the world, different mobile brands dominate different regions. So while Apple’s iPhone is the undisputed champion in America for instance, this is not particularly the case in every other big market.

In South America, Blu owns the biggest market share, while Samsung and Micromax are the most dominant mobile brands in India. The world’s most populous country, China, has Huawei, Oppo and Vivo holding sway respectively in a market that has about the stiffest competition globally.

But, how about in Africa? Data from recent research shows that Tecno Mobile has crawled its way up to dominate the African mobile space, doing remarkably well in its ten years of existence to emerge as the local king in Africa’s mobile industry.

Meet Tecno Mobile
Tecno Mobile needs no introduction, definitely not in Africa. Tecno Mobile is a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer.

The company was started in July 2006 in Hong Kong with its first research and development centre in Shanghai, China. The dynamic mobile multinational has definitely done well for itself in the African market.

In 2006, Tecno entered the African mobile market sphere and its 10 years stay, has covered more than 35 countries while dominating major markets such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Cameroon, Ghana and so on.

However, after the African mobile market dominance, Tecno aimed at expanding this feat to other parts of the world and it succeeded.

Today, Tecno has extended its web to more than 48 countries around the world, across the Middle East, South East Asia and South America – this has made Tecno one of the mobile brands to reckon with, not just in Africa but also around the world.

Partnership with Famous Brands All Over the World
As a company that thinks outside the box, Tecno strategically partnered with some top-ranking brands such as, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, MTN, Tigo, Airtel, Etisalat, Sony, Jumia, slot, Android, Mediatek etc. to continue keeping up with its maxim of giving its esteemed customers the best. 

Why Has Tecno Been So Successful in Africa?
Understanding the market is key to a brand’s success and Tecno brand has understood the need for African consumers.

Year on year, the Asian multinational rolled out smartphone products targeted at different market segments and pegged at the right price.

“Quality is never compromised on Tecno products because at the core to the brand’s philosophy is innovation that is geared to keep product quality at par with global best as more mobile consumers embrace the brand, the company said recently while unveiling its global presence”.

In November 2007, Tecno released Africa’s first dual SIM phone the T780 to address the then problem of people carrying around several mobile phones due to poor Telecoms network infrastructure in the continent at the time.

Apart from the dual SIM cards, Tecno’s smartphones are reliable and the average life span of every Tecno product could last for over three years.

With this exploit, in 2010, Tecno was ranked among the top three brands in Africa also, according to a survey carried out in 2011, six out of every ten African use a TECNO dual SIM phone, this further increased Tecno’s market share to more than 27% within its dominant markets.

Smartphone Tailored for Every Need
Understanding that several mobile users have specific needs that regular smartphones cannot totally satisfy, Tecno has three mobile series that are tailored to satisfy a special need. They are:

BOOM series (music lovers): Tecno Boom smartphone series liaises with Boom Maxx to provide rich, crispy sound and allows users feel the perfect mega bass.

The Boom player on the TECNO Boom smartphone comes with a free digital content (Music & Video) application that allows music lovers to access a huge catalogue of music and videos from their favorite African and International artistes.

The Boom player is preinstalled with over 300,000 songs from over 4,000 signed artistes across Africa.

CAMON series (Photo lovers): Tecno Camon series provides the excellent capture experience. A lot of mobile users face the problem of capturing very high definition pictures in low light environment. Since the release of the Tecno CAMON Series, from the 5MP on the Camon C5, 8MP on the Camon C8 to the dual 13MP on the Camon C9, that limitation has been surpassed as Tecno had up to 500 professional engineers working for more than 285 days’ to produce the most suitable low-light camera on the Camon.

Phantom series (high-level business consumers): The Tecno phantom series, which is one of the best-reviewed annual flagships from the stable of Tecno, always drops with unconventional upgrades on mobile specifications.

The Tecno Phantom brands have proven in five years of its official rollout, that the product line is as competitive and appealing as any other top smartphone brand in the African market. And much to the Tecno brand’s delight, consumers are taking a liking for TECNO Phantom products.

In 2014, Tecno Phantom Z was rated the best smartphone in the Ghanaian mobile space; marking the second year in a roll for a Phantom to cart away the same award in Ghana. Last year’s phantom edition, the TECNO Phantom 6, was launched in September and is said to be the slimmest smartphone with dual rear lens camera.

Tecno: A brand with the best after-sales service for Africa
For the satisfaction of consumers, there is a special after-sales service center for every TECNO consumer. In the Nigerian market, there are 95 after-sales service centers in more than 60 cities in the country with over 400 local employees, that have been put on standby to attend to any after sale complaint whatsoever.

Tecno consumers who have an issue with their phone after just 3 days of purchase stand a chance of having their phone replaced and if the damage is not serious then, their device would be repaired within 12 hours.    

The Community-Centered Business Takes Responsibility For Society
As a brand that believes in giving back, TECNO does all it can to take care of its host communities. It takes its various CSR projects very seriously and imbibes the CSR culture in its business module across its markets.

Through their various life-touching projects, Tecno has empowered several people. Some of such project is the Light Up Ikeja initiative; a CSR project executed in the first quarter of 2016 where Tecno installed Eighty plus (80+) solar-powered streetlights in the Ikeja electronic market (Popularly called Computer village) and its environs to help with the security challenges faced in the area. Other Corporate Social Responsibility projects executed by Tecno include: scholarships for pupils in public primary schools in Nigeria (Lagos), support of the Michael Essien Foundation in Ghana, amongst others.

Tecno Light Up Ikeja Project
It’s still a tough road ahead for Tecno, as no brand can survive the future by depending on its past or current accomplishments. By celebrating a decade of insightful leadership, giant strides and deserved successes, Tecno Mobile reiterates its commitment to its promise – “African mobile consumers deserve to Experience More”, and by offering consumer friendly devices and services through ever evolving innovation and technology, the multinational brand aims to consolidate on its gains and spread its tentacles all over the world.

As they would say, “it’s never enough to say, ensure you also show it”.