adminCHINESE mobile phone maker Huawei has entered the Zimbabwean market through a partnership with Econet Wireless which is set to give dominant brands such as Samsung, Nokia and Apple a run for their money. Through the deal, Econet Wireless will be the local agent for the Chinese giant. Huawei is the world’s third largest phone maker after Samsung and Apple, employing over 150 000 people, with revenues amounting to US$35 billion as at the end of 2012.
Account manager Mr Zhuo Wei said Zimbabwe was an important overseas market for the company.
“We aim to provide Zimbabweans with the opportunity to stay connected to the world, to browse the internet, share every moment of their lives with those who count, and of course, keep them in touch, any time anywhere,” he said.
“We believe in providing the best devices to Zimbabwe with reasonable price, latest technology and high quality performance based on our great research and development skills and capacity developed in a cross-cultural work environment.”
The Huawei range of both lower and higher end smartphones comes at competitive prices. The company marked its entrance into the Zimbabwean market through the launch of a range of smart phones under its Ascend brand.
“Huawei will invest in an extensive through-the-line marketing campaign, to drive awareness amongst consumers and drive them to the stores to purchase,” Mr Wei said.
He said the partnership with Econet would enable the Huawei brand to “explode in the Zimbabwe market”.
Officials from Econet said smartphones would en- able the firm’s subscribers to fully utilise its network. Econet has since its establishment invested over US$1 billion in the Zimbabwean economy.
With network registering a decline in voice business, Econet has announced plans to exploit data services to widen its revenue base.
Smartphones come with a wide array of applications and become the tool through which mobile companies benefit as most of the applications use data services. — New Ziana.
Online Reporter