President William Ruto on Monday, 30th October opened the first ever smartphone assembly in Kenya. The firm will partner with international device manufacturers and will be operating from Athi River, Machakos County.
The Athi River-based East Africa Device Assembly Kenya Limited (EADAK) will be able to produce a total of 3 Million device units annually. This is according to the firm chairman and Jamii Telcom CEO Joshua Chepkwony. He has also said that each unit will cost a total of Ksh 7500 to own one terming it economical and affordable.
This will in turn generate jobs for the youth with an approximate of 300-500 youths to be integrated in the company directly. The phones will be available in all faiba shops, Safaricom dealer stores and Masoko Online Platform.
According to Joshua Chepkwony, the assembly plant will support the government’s critical agenda to enhance digital inclusion across Kenya.
There will be two categories of these phones. The Neon 5 inch dubbed smarta, the 6 and half inch dubbed Ultra. These both categories will be 4G enabled with the company aiming to unveil tablets in the coming months.
Peter Ndegwa, the CEO of Safaricom has praised the move terming it as empowering to kenyans through affordable and high quality phones.
“The launch of EADAK reaffirms our belief in the power of connectivity to transform lives and drive economic progress. This partnership underscores our relentless pursuit to expand 4G access and empower Kenyans through affordable, high-quality smartphones, create employment opportunities and grow our economy.”
President William Ruto had previously promised that he will work to ensure kenyans get affordable phones locally. This seems to be working as he opened the first smartphone assembly in kenya. Apart from employment, more kenyans will move from using cellphones to internet enabled phones.
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