Nigeria might not join the league of countries where Samsung manufactures phones soon, except the proportion of smartphones being used in the country increases. Sung Yoon. Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Electronics Africa revealed this at a parley held with the media. Nigeria’s broad band market was also relatively small compared to other countries such as South Africa.
Yoon also revealed that over 400 components were required to manufacture a phone with many of them not available in the country. Nigeria was also plagued by a large number of grey imports. Grey imports are electronics sold in a country outside the official distribution network. Nigeria has a booming second hand phone market, with many of them imported from Europe.
Other factors hindering manufacturing
Though the Samsung CEO did not state other factors, the infrastructural challenges in the country make manufacturing an expensive venture. Industries in the country have to generate their own power, due to epileptic operations thus adding to their costs of operations. In many cases, industries have to construct their own roads, source water. These factors make goods produced in the country more expensive than those imported.
Why is smartphone use is still low ?
Nigeria remains a relatively poor country, with majority of the population employed by the informal sector and earning less than a dollar a day. Most Nigerians thus prefer to buy feature phones that go for as cheap as $10.The cost of data is also expensive in the country, hence discouraging many consumers from acquiring a smart phone.
Mobile phone manufacturers prefer to focus on pushing smart phone sales as they have a higher profit margin.
About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Limited was founded in 1969 in South Korea. The company is the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones and smart phones. Samsung also manufactures components for its competitors such as Apple and