Smartphone brand Obi Mobiles enters Africa

Smartphone company, Obi Mobiles, co-founded by John Sculley, former CEO of Apple and Pepsi Cola, has recently entered in East Africa, starting Kenya and Tanzania. Encouraged by the reception Obi devices have received in both the markets, the brand is already planning to expand to other African markets over the next few months. Obi had launched its smartphone range in the Middle East last year and over a period of four months had managed to capture market share of over 4%. 

The vision behind this new venture of John Sculley is to ensure that high cost does not continue to remain a barrier to access superior technology. Android smartphones launched by Obi Mobiles offer Silicon Valley technology at competitive price points. Sculley’s vision and plans in Africa have received a supporting note from Francis W. Wangusi, Director General (DG) of the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), when he says, “we are expecting an explosion of ICT services in Kenya, and it is devices such as Obi Mobiles that will support them.”

Explains Amit Rupchandani, Managing Director, Obi Mobiles, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA): “Consumers are increasingly looking to upgrade from feature phones to smartphones. However, the high cost of investment in state-of-the-art devices is a huge deterrent for a large number of aspirational buyers. At Obi Mobiles, we believe in ticking the right boxes in terms of superior design and quality at desirable price points. With the support of strong channels that reach every segment of the market, we are confident that we can add immense value to the African smartphone market. Obi Mobiles will continue to expand in Africa and other parts of the world extensively through 2015. By the end of the year, we aim to be in 70 emerging markets globally.”

At the launch event in Nairobi last week, Sculley also announced that his venture capital firm Obi Ventures would invest in select East African entrepreneurs, and that he would extend Obi Ventures to other countries in Africa as the brand establishes itself in the continent. It was also announced that DESPEC, the leading distributor in EMEA, will manage the distribution of Obi devices to all key retailer and independent retailer channels.