The Phone and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (PAPDAN) has announced that they are planning to introduce two Nigerian-made phones, and will be called the iQ and MaxTel.
This idea was born out of the realization of the need to develop mobile devices that cater to the Nigerian population by 20 Nogerian investors, who pulled resources to ensure the the idea is implemented.
The news came after South Africa’s Seemahale Telecoms and CZ Electronics’ similar announcement that the two companies will also soon start the designing, developing and manufacturing process of smartphones in South Africa.
“PAPDAN has identified a growing appetite for cutting-edge technologies among Nigerian telecoms consumers and the two Nigerian brands will cater to three market segments in the feature, medium and smart phone segments to offer choice to consumers,” said Godfrey Iyke Nwosu, President of PAPDAN.
The number of mobile phone users, according to Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has risen to just above 120 million as of July 2013. This translates to more than 69 percent of the population being in contact through a mobile device.
PAPDAN is a Nigerian based group representing the interest of phone dealers in Ikeja Computer Village, the nation’s largest market cluster for technology products and other related services,
The PAPDAN president also said that the members of PAPDAN sell in excess of two million mobile phones monthly in Nigeria and several other countries in the region, and that the new devices will provide home-grown solutions for the Nigerian technology market.
