Before the days of low-quality Chinese feature phones and the emergence of android, only brand new and used (mostly stolen) quality mobile devices shipped down to Africa. Nokia and blackberry dominated Africa markets as they did throughout the world, albeit with expensive price tags. The expensive price tags meant people who couldn’t afford these devices didn’t have these devices at all.

The emergence of android meant both of these manufactures closed shop. In the emergence of android, Nokia went the Microsoft way, while on the other hand, RIM (Research in Motion) arrogantly stayed with its doomed-to-fail blackberry OS. Android is known and meant to run on basically almost anything, and this meant anything cheap too. Being open source (which simply meant anyone could freely use it without paying a dime in royalty or licensing) meant every Tom, Dick, and Harry could put android OS on their devices.

Having read what looks like a bit of a back story in the beginning of this article, in the next few paragraphs, you’ll be knowing three reasons why Africans will keep purchasing terrible low-budget devices!

Lack of regulatory bodies

One of the reasons why low-quality consumer electronics keep flooding the African market is lack of institutions required to regulate products that enters the market. The picture below shows the regulatory body of countries with strong institutions which regulates consumer electronics that enters their territory. When you look closely, you will find signs of regulatory institutions from the US, Canada, Europe, Brazil, Costa Rica, Argentina, Columbia, and Mexico.


The signs of these regulatory bodies are embedded in every device found in these countries. The sample picture in this article is that of an iPhone. To find that of your device manufacturer, look into your device settings. If you can’t find these regulatory certifications, this only means your device didn’t pass the certification tests and not fit for use. Many of these devices are found in Africa!

All-round bad economy

Many things can be linked to a bad economy, and low-quality products flooding a market is one of many. Across Africa, standard of living is low, same as purchasing power of currencies, and without doubt, these are also linked to bad economies. When the standard of living in a country is low, it simply means the habitants are poor and can barely afford necessities. For majority of Africans to be able to afford smartphones, these devices have to be dirt cheap, and this is another reason why sales of low-quality consumer electronics has continued to thrive in Africa.

Lack of education and ignorance

Africa is regularly referred to as the rich continent habiting the poorest (not literally in the context of this article). A lot of people have poor minds. Easily swayed by cheap promotions without knowing the contents of what they are getting. Some certain smartphone manufacturers who ship down cheap smartphones to African countries have continued to use the same cheap components year-in year-out in different casings. The lack of education and a problem of ignorance has ensured this continues and African consumers are unable to ask for better.

Technology is advancing, developed countries have continued to enjoy the benefits, but can we say the same for Africa?

Source: https://gigabyts.com/?p=56

Cc lalasticlala honsule puskin

Should include Tecno Marketeers..

Those are ready to throw their brothers under the bus,in exchange for a pittance from Transsion..

I hope the regulatory bodies listen because we have many of them on this platform. Unfortunately this article will end up in archieves

CHEAP THINGS SELLS IN AFRICA

Well said .

masterfactor:
CHEAP THINGS SELLS IN AFRICA

A bad economy is a breeding ground for such markets.

I weep for our AFRICA.

ORIJIN201:
A bad economy is a breeding ground for such markets.

That is true, imagine if 1 dollar is equivalent to 100 or 150 naira, high end devices will be super cheap

That's why I always apply common sense when buying this devices, any company that is not recognised and registered for European or US markets is no no for me. I don't joke with quality, at least you have value for the money spent.

Lalasticlala educative post, front page pls

Nice tip.

But I bet this will not generate much attention needed as people will see it as bashing someone again.

Hhmm... Nice write-up, OP! Here's my input.

I think the products Africans consume are a reflection of thier economy. You just can't enjoy what you can't afford. Those phones you consider low quality are the reason why an average Nigerian can afford to stay connected today. Otherwise, the use of mobile devices would have still been a thing for the rich alone in Africa.

I think the regulatory bodies check for compliance to national policy (energy efficiency regulations, labeling requirements, radiocommunication acts, etc.) and not necessarily quality in terms of performance. A fully compliant device might still have low quality and the regulatory bodies would still let it pass if there's demand for it. Asides from medical equipment, I don't think it's the duty of a regulatory body to sieve out products based on perfomace because technology is usually scaled out. This means the lower the quality, the lower the price. People are therefore given the chance to make their choices. In other words, a good deal of the phones sold in Africa could still pass the regulatory requirements in the US. But would they be successful in the market? The answer is no. This is because the devices are specifically scaled to fit the African market. In other words, the quality/price relationship is adjusted to meet the purchasing power of an average African. If the phones are imported into Canada for example, it would die a natural death cause an average Canadian can afford an iPhone given the minimum wage factor.

So many of these devices you criticize were designed to cater for the low income earners (majority of which are in Africa). And each would naturally disappear the moment the average African's purchasing power goes above its offerings (at the individual level, you naturally go for a better phone when your earning goes up). It would, therefore, be a brute force economic policy to attempt to sieve them out when your people can't afford the high quality ones.

Thanks for sharing.

WoundedLamb:
Hhmm... Nice write-up, OP! Here's my input.

I think the products Africans consume are a reflection of thier economy. You just can't enjoy what you can't afford. Those phones you consider low quality are the reason why an average Nigerian can afford to stay connected today. Otherwise, the use of mobile devices would have still been a thing for the rich alone in Africa.

I think the regulatory bodies check for compliance to national policy (energy efficiency regulations, labeling requirements, radiocommunication acts, etc.) and not necessarily quality in terms of performance. A fully compliant device might still have low quality and the regulatory bodies would still let it pass if there's demand for it. Asides from medical equipment, I don't think it's the duty of a regulatory body to sieve out products based on perfomace because technology is usually scaled out. This means the lower the quality, the lower the price. People are therefore given the chance to make their choices. In other words, a good deal of the phones sold in Africa could still pass the regulatory requirements in the US. But would they be successful in the market? The answer is no. This is because the devices are specifically scaled to fit the African market. In other words, the quality/price relationship is adjusted to meet the purchasing power of an average African. If the phones are imported into Canada for example, it would die a natural death cause an average Canadian can afford an iPhone given the minimum wage factor.

So many of these devices you criticize were designed to cater for the low income earners (majority of which are in Africa). And each would naturally disappear the moment the average African's purchasing power goes above its offerings (at the individual level, you naturally go for a better phone when your earning goes up). It would, therefore, be a brute force economic policy to attempt to sieve them out when your people can't afford the high quality ones.

Thanks for sharing.

I stopped reading halfway because you totally missed the point. Techno and the likes has no market in the USA or any western country because components are not up to standard and are not safe for use. I didn’t want to call names so readers won’t see me as bias. Imagine a last year report showed Chinese smartphones shipped phones with malware to Africa. Would that have passed in developed countries? That would been the end of such manufacturers.

I agree with your first paragraph. You can’t give what you don’t have.

WoundedLamb:
Hhmm... Nice write-up, OP! Here's my input.

I think the products Africans consume are a reflection of thier economy. You just can't enjoy what you can't afford. Those phones you consider low quality are the reason why an average Nigerian can afford to stay connected today. Otherwise, the use of mobile devices would have still been a thing for the rich alone in Africa.

I think the regulatory bodies check for compliance to national policy (energy efficiency regulations, labeling requirements, radiocommunication acts, etc.) and not necessarily quality in terms of performance. A fully compliant device might still have low quality and the regulatory bodies would still let it pass if there's demand for it. Asides from medical equipment, I don't think it's the duty of a regulatory body to sieve out products based on perfomace because technology is usually scaled out. This means the lower the quality, the lower the price. People are therefore given the chance to make their choices. In other words, a good deal of the phones sold in Africa could still pass the regulatory requirements in the US. But would they be successful in the market? The answer is no. This is because the devices are specifically scaled to fit the African market. In other words, the quality/price relationship is adjusted to meet the purchasing power of an average African. If the phones are imported into Canada for example, it would die a natural death cause an average Canadian can afford an iPhone given the minimum wage factor.

So many of these devices you criticize were designed to cater for the low income earners (majority of which are in Africa). And each would naturally disappear the moment the average African's purchasing power goes above its offerings (at the individual level, you naturally go for a better phone when your earning goes up). It would, therefore, be a brute force economic policy to attempt to sieve them out when your people can't afford the high quality ones.

Thanks for sharing.

Your thoughts and expressions are valid. Infact it hit the nail on the coffin

ORIJIN201:
I stopped reading halfway because you totally missed the point. Techno and the likes has no market in the USA or any western country because components are not up to standard and are not safe for use. I didn’t want to call names so readers won’t see me as bias. Imagine a last year report showed Chinese smartphones shipped phones with malware to Africa. Would that have passed in developed countries? That would be the end of such manufacturers.

I agree with your first paragraph. You can’t give what you don’t have.

It is possible that China could pass those malware to Africa however don't forget China has disagreement with the USA. They have the media at their pocket

Nigeria has SON and other bodies meant to ensure quality control and standards are met.

But then just like NAFDAC and every other thing in Nigeria, you can always have your way when you have good conversation skills and a little crispy Naira notesbin your wallet.

Just smile make some jokes, know when to dip your hands into your pocket and things should be pretty groovy

CandyOps:
Nigeria has SON and other bodies meant to ensure quality control and standards are met.

But then just like NAFDAC and every other thing in Nigeria, you can always have your way when you have good conversation skills and a little crispy Naira notesbin your wallet.

Just smile make some jokes, know when to dip your hands into your pocket and things should be pretty groovy

SON is a weak institution and lacks the necessary equipments and personnel for testing these components and softwares. All you have to do is grease their palms and your products will pass. The system is broken and needs a massive change.

Low standard of living, all those big iPhones we celebrate here in Africa are almost like the norm for the people of most developed countries, 1$ = #500, what do you expect when to buy a bag of rice is already a cause for celebration, it's sad African countries can't produce competent leaders and efficient leadership

ORIJIN201:
Before the days of low-quality Chinese feature phones and the emergence of android, only brand new and used (mostly stolen) quality mobile devices shipped down to Africa. Nokia and blackberry dominated Africa markets as they did throughout the world, albeit with expensive price tags. The expensive price tags meant people who couldn’t afford these devices didn’t have these devices at all.

The emergence of android meant both of these manufactures closed shop. In the emergence of android, Nokia went the Microsoft way, while on the other hand, RIM (Research in Motion) arrogantly stayed with its doomed-to-fail blackberry OS. Android is known and meant to run on basically almost anything, and this meant anything cheap too. Being open source (which simply meant anyone could freely use it without paying a dime in royalty or licensing) meant every Tom, Dick, and Harry could put android OS on their devices.

Having read what looks like a bit of a back story in the beginning of this article, in the next few paragraphs, you’ll be knowing three reasons why Africans will keep purchasing terrible low-budget devices!

Lack of regulatory bodies

One of the reasons why low-quality consumer electronics keep flooding the African market is lack of institutions required to regulate products that enters the market. The picture below shows the regulatory body of countries with strong institutions which regulates consumer electronics that enters their territory. When you look closely, you will find signs of regulatory institutions from the US, Canada, Europe, Brazil, Costa Rica, Argentina, Columbia, and Mexico.


The signs of these regulatory bodies are embedded in every device found in these countries. The sample picture in this article is that of an iPhone. To find that of your device manufacturer, look into your device settings. If you can’t find these regulatory certifications, this only means your device didn’t pass the certification tests and not fit for use. Many of these devices are found in Africa!

All-round bad economy

Many things can be linked to a bad economy, and low-quality products flooding a market is one of many. Across Africa, standard of living is low, same as purchasing power of currencies, and without doubt, these are also linked to bad economies. When the standard of living in a country is low, it simply means the habitants are poor and can barely afford necessities. For majority of Africans to be able to afford smartphones, these devices have to be dirt cheap, and this is another reason why sales of low-quality consumer electronics has continued to thrive in Africa.

Lack of education and ignorance

Africa is regularly referred to as the rich continent habiting the poorest (not literally in the context of this article). A lot of people have poor minds. Easily swayed by cheap promotions without knowing the contents of what they are getting. Some certain smartphone manufacturers who ship down cheap smartphones to African countries have continued to use the same cheap components year-in year-out in different casings. The lack of education and a problem of ignorance has ensured this continues and African consumers are unable to ask for better.

Technology is advancing, developed countries have continued to enjoy the benefits, but can we say the same for Africa?


Source: https://gigabyts.com/?p=56

Nice one

Nice post OP