Africa’s biggest home-grown smartphone manufacturer, Mara Phones, has notched up an impressive development with its first shipment of devices to the United Kingdom. This first export by an African handset manufacturer to the UK follows the appointment of Livewire as a Mara Phones distributor for the UK.
“Mara Phones offers the UK mobile consumer that appealing mix of quality and affordability at a time when good value really matters. We are pleased to now be able to offer an excellent product much greater global reach,” says Richard Gallant, CEO of Livewire. From its incorporation in the UK in 1999, Livewire Telecom Ltd is today a global leader in the distribution of mobile devices and is recognised as such by all the major manufacturers, which now include Mara Phones.
Rona Kotecha, Executive Director, Mara Phones UK and EU thanked Livewire and UK customers for their confidence in Mara Phones devices. Mara Phones has strong ethos around business and social impact, which appeals to the more conscious consumer and we are thrilled to be able to establish an official presence here.” The appointment of Livewire as Mara Phones’ official representative in the UK means customers can rest assured on the support element from the smartphone manufacturer’s authorised representatives.
The current shipment of Mara Phones was produced in Rwanda with the firm having also opened a South African smartphone manufacturing facility last year in the city of Durban, which has Africa’s biggest port. According to Eddy Sebera, Managing Director of Mara Phones Rwanda: “The achievement of exporting state-of-the-art devices to the world’s most advanced mobile market belongs to all Africans.” Mara Phones was the first local company to launch high-tech smartphone manufacturing facilities on the African Continent.
Jo Lomas, the British High Commissioner to Rwanda offered her support and congratulated Mara Phones on this accomplishment. “I was very excited to hear that Mara Phones, made in Rwanda and supported by British investment, are now being exported to the UK. This is a great example of the trade and investment relationship the UK wants to continue growing with Rwanda, creating skilled jobs and valuable exports and demonstrating Rwanda’s role as one of Africa’s innovation and technology leaders.”
The first Mara Phones factory was opened in Rwanda on 07 October 2019 by His Excellency President Paul Kagame and the second one in South Africa on 17 October 2019 by His Exellency President Cyril Ramaphosa. Mara Phones is committed to helping deliver on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by finding innovative solutions to global problems and have aligned its efforts to the SDG’s that mirror their business strategy; namely SDG 5, 8, 9, 10 and 17. The smartphone manufacturer has adopted progressive gender equality and employment equity initiatives in all its operations and both factories in Rwanda and South Africa each employ over 60% women and over 90% youth.
In 2019 at Geneva, Switzerland, Invest Durban & Dube TradePort were selected as one of the winners of the 2019 United Nations Investment Promotion Awards for their submission on Mara Phones as a successful foreign direct investment project within Special Economic Zones in key Sustainable Developmental Goals in South Africa.
Mara Phones is committed to developing affordable, high quality smartphones equipped with the latest technology and now available to UK customers through Mara Phones’ website.
