In Nigeria right now, the fastest-selling phone brands are TECNO, Infinix and probably iTel and funny enough, these phone manufacturers are under the same organization which is Transsion Holdings Inc. Meaning that they are all under the same parent company.
Transsion Holdings Inc. is the parent organization and the owner of Tecno Mobile, Infinix and iTel. It is a Chinese company based in Shenzhen, China.
I hear people say that the brain behind TECNO mobile is a Nigerian named Nnamdi Ezeigbo. Well, according to Wikipedia, he is the CEO and Founder of SLOT Systems Limited. However, there are stories around the internet about how Nnamdi Ezeigbo founded TECNO Phones, and we will be discussing that later in this article. Just read on.
According to Wikipedia, Transsion Holdings Inc. was the largest smartphone manufacturer by sales in Africa in 2017 and also sells mobile phones in South Asia. Its brands include phone brands TECNO, Itel and Infinix, Syinix for home appliances, after-sales service brand Carlcare, and accessories brand Oraimo.
TECNO Mobile is a subsidiary of Transsion Holdings with a comprehensive mobile device portfolio across feature phones, smartphones and tablets. As a brand, TECNO is dedicated to transforming state-of-the-art technologies into localized products under the guideline of “Think Globally, Act Locally”. Established in 2006, TECNO has a presence in more than 60 countries across the globe. It is now one of the top three mobile phone brands in Africa and a major player worldwide. TECNO is also the Official Tablet and Handset Partner of Manchester City Football Club.
George Zho is the founder and CEO of TECNO Mobile.
Infinix Mobile is a private company founded in 2013 under Transsion Holdings Inc and it is based in Hong Kong. Benjamin Jiang is the CEO of Infinix Mobile.
The market strategy at work is that TECNO and Infinix manufacture high-end smartphones for middle and low-class Nigerians while iTel makes budget-end smartphones, especially for Students.
So basically, if you’re buying a TECNO phone or Infinix or iTel, the money is going into the same pocket.
How Nnamdi Ezeigbo Founded Tecno Phones (According to other sources
Nnamdi Ezeigbo started with repairs and sales of computers after he graduated from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos where he studied Electrical Electronics Engineering.
Years before now, there was nothing like dual SIM phones in Nigeria. It was just one phone, one SIM and if you are going to get another SIM then you would have to get another phone.
It was then the idea struck him that if a phone has a dual SIM slot, Nigerians would definitely go for it. So he approached Nokia at first and the Nokia company saw it as a bad idea for their market strategy, they believed that since they had more people using their phones, it meant more sales for them.
He didn’t stop there. He then travelled to China and met a guy who works for a phone manufacturing company named ‘Bird’. “Bird was into phones but they got choked and lost market share.” He said. He discussed his plans and ideas with the guy and they implemented it.
That was how the name TECNO was registered and he then brought the guy to Nigeria for their new business. Their first phone was the Tecno T101.
This story was culled from Esy. Read the full story about Nnamdi Ezeigbo and how TECNO mobile came about there.
That’s all, if you’ve any further questions, please do make sure to leave it in the comments section below and don’t forget to share this post with your friends and family.
