So what is Transsion, this Chinese company that will enter the top 5 of the world's largest smartphone providers in 2023 behind Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi and Oppo? Unknown in Western countries and even in China, where it doesn't sell phones, the company based in Shenzhen in southern China has discreetly built its success thanks to African consumers. In 2017, nine years after marketing its first-ever device in Nigeria, the company dethroned Samsung and established itself as the number one mobile phone on the continent.
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With its rapidly growing and increasingly connected population, Africa is whetting the appetites of Chinese tech companies. While Huawei and ZTE are at the forefront of providing network equipment, Transsion now holds more than 40% of the African smartphone market and even more than 70% in the basic phone segment.
From Lagos to Kinshasa to Dar es Salaam, it is impossible to avoid the three brands Tecno, Infinix and Itel, whose logos invariably adorn the retailers' stands. “Transsion invested in distribution channels very early and proved to be very accessible in urban and rural areas,” explains Ramazan Yavuz, an analyst at the American firm IDC.
Customized functionalities
A land use strategy coupled with research and development efforts to offer African users functionalities adapted to their needs. Transsion's phones were the first to feature multiple SIM card slots, making it easy to switch providers depending on promotional offers and network coverage. The batteries are particularly long-lasting and the keyboards have integrated African languages such as Amharic, which is spoken in Ethiopia, or Swahili and Hausa.
Above all, the manufacturer offers unbeatable value for money, especially thanks to its entry-level brand Itel. A key argument in sub-Saharan Africa, where the cost of the cheapest devices that provide access to the Internet accounts for an average of 25% of consumers' monthly income, according to GSMA, the international association of telecommunications operators.
However, the company does not want to limit itself to the status of a low-cost manufacturer, recalls Mr. Yavuz: “Its product portfolio is developing in Africa towards higher price ranges, which are between 100 and 200 dollars (from 91 to 182). Euro). The first foldable smartphone came onto the market in February 2023.
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