Have you heard of Obi Worldphone? It is one of the latest manufacturers to join the smartphone race and is unique in its own way. Obi Worldphone devices are designed in the US and are mainly targeting users in emerging markets in Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia.
Obi Worldphone has been available in Kenya where it started operations officially sometime this year when its co-founder, John Sculley unveiled the first 8 devices the company was to get into the market with. Obi went on aggressive offline marketing campaigns in the country as it tried to win over some customers.
With the successful launch in Kenya, Obi Worldphone is expanding in Nigeria where it will be launching a series of smartphones today. It is still not clear which smartphones the company will be launching but my guess is that we will be seeing all its latest ones, even the ones launched back in August.
Coming to Africa is very strategic for the company that previously said, “Consumers are increasingly looking to upgrade from feature rich phones to smartphones. However, the high cost of investment on new-age devices is a huge deterrent for a large number of aspirational buyers. At Obi Mobiles, we believe by ticking off the right boxes, in terms of superior design and quality, desirable price points, and the support of strong channels that reach every segment of the market will help us succeed across Africa.”
We will keep you updated on this topic and the future of Obi Worldphone in Africa.