This is huge – Tecno parent company, China-based Transsion Holdings, now commands 48.7% market share in Africa. Transsion’s mobile phone business in Africa is bigger than either of Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. Transsion is hitting IPO in Shanghai Star Board which has been modeled after tech-heavy NASDAQ of United States. It plans to raise about $423 million. It shipped close to 95 million mobile phones to Africa in 2018.
Transsion, known as the “King of Africa” on the continent, according to the filing on Monday, has overtaken Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. as the largest mobile phone maker there, tapping into a huge and fast-growing market.
Since founding the Tecno Mobile brand in 2006, founder Zhu Zhaojiang has overseen an expansion that now claims a 48.7% market share in Africa, according to the filing. Transsion shipped 94.44 million mobile phones to Africa in 2018, out of a total of 124 million global shipments.
The company plans to issue as many as 80 million A-shares in the IPO and will set the price on Sept. 17. Proceeds will be used to pay for mobile phone manufacturing base projects and research and development, the filing said.
When Tecno came, it began from 0% market share. But by listening to local customer needs and delivering frugal innovation – great value for money – this firm has become a category-king smartphone market leader in Africa. The message is simple: nothing is set even when Apple or Samsung is involved. Yes, if you innovate, customers will converge irrespective of your initial brand positioning because brand positioning is a product of product validation. Bloomberg has called Tecno the “King of Africa” because when it comes to shipping smartphones, Tecno parent firm, Transsion, is the king today. And the company continues to innovate with the launch of its TECNO CAMON 12 recently.
The 4 in 1 technology and mosaic algorithm enable TECNO CAMON 12 stand out from its range with high pixel and clear camera lens. It comes true that by utilizing TECNO CAMON 12 120° Super Wide Angle or 2cm Extreme Macro Photography, the consumers will be able to take blockbusters by a phone. And you’ll find that with TECNO CAMON 12, anybody can be a professional photographer.
TECNO has been dedicating to providing users with the most up-to-date image technology and experience and announcing the future product strategy to have a smartphone with frontier 108M pixels camera and in-display camera technology in the very near future. 108 MP is set to be one of the highest-spec cameras equipped on a smartphone and with ultra-high resolution as well as better light input capacity and image details, which can be used as printed poster directly.
---
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA (Feb 10 - May 3, 2025), and join Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe and our global faculty; click here.
Not sure Apple should be mentioned when discussing smartphones market in Africa. The iPhone was never conceived for African market, the current pricing doesn’t still care about purchasing power of Africans, so it’s a sort of ‘injustice’ against Apple whenever it is roped into this scramble for Africa’s mobile phones market.
The major selling point for Transsion Holdings is the pricing and understanding of peculiarities in the African environment. It is doing very well in the space where it operates; it’s all about understanding your target market.
Just know where you belong and do everything to own your space; you will be fine.
You are correct – Apple is not there in Africa. Yet, not adding it will make some people ask “What of Apple?”. So, it was done in a redundant way
Tecno understands Africa better then other players in the phone market and that it why it has some much market share. Pricing is a major selling point for them.
not too surprising, they have really worked hard producing a lot of amazing devices, so i can say t is well deserved.
Ain’t surprised to be honest. They’re the top brand in Africa for a reason.
Amazing market feat indeed