Made in Kenya first smartphone produced, bulk phones for sell to be ready in July at $40

On January 10, Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo unveiled the very first smartphone built in Kenya. Made in Kenya smartphone will be available in the market from July 2023.

The cell phones being produced at the Konza Technopolis facility in Malili, Machakos County, would feature a completely operational Android operating system.

According to Owalo, the plan would go into effect by July.”The telecommunications have acknowledged that at some point shortly, Kenya will need to become a maker of phones and affordable technology as opposed to a primary importer,” the executive said.

The first supply of made-in-Kenya phones will sell for around USD 40, or about Ksh4,000–Ksh5,000.

The full manufacture of the first smartphone has started, according to CS Owalo, and the first set would be sold by August 2023.

Kenya’s first smartphone features

The smartphone will offer fundamental functionality, including call, text, time, and calendar apps, thanks to a relationship with US tech giant Google.

Users of the smartphone may simultaneously install other mobile supplemental apps.

The first smartphone produced in Kenya will support native, web, and hybrid mobile applications.

Native Android applications created expressly for a mobile device’s Android operating system will be included in the Kenyan-made first smartphone.

Also, the smartphone will have the ability to use Web applications, which provide consumers with wonderful user experiences via browsers.

Instead of standalone Web applications, Kenya’s first smartphone will access resources via dynamic designs that customize their user experience for the devices.

Hybrid applications, which are basically online apps that feel and appear like native apps, are the third kind of mobile apps that Kenyan-made smartphones will support.

Kenyan smartphones will come with an app icon for the home screen, responsive design, quick responsiveness, and even the ability to work offline.

In addition to being able to fulfill local market demand, “we will also have a surplus for export,” CS Owalo said.

Since smartphones built in Kenya will run the robust Android operating system (OS), which Google created, these handsets will account for 70% of all phones purchased worldwide.

Kenya plans to produce and export technology like software, according to CS Owalo.

President William Ruto said on Thursday, November 10, that his country would start producing inexpensive cell phones.

“The actual final mile in technology is the gadgets, and we are working with our telecoms so we’re able to obtain a smartphone that is below Ksh5,000,” the president said in remarks at the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Annual General Meeting.