Africa’s leading telecom network operators plan to roll out a new $40 4G smartphone as part of a push to bridge affordability gaps that limit access to digital services on the continent.
Airtel, Axian Telecom, Ethio Telecom, MTN, Orange, and Vodacom — who together serve some 800 million Africans — are in talks with manufacturers on the device’s specifications, as part of an affordability coalition brought together by the mobile industry trade body, the GSMA. DR Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda will be pilot countries for the phone’s launch, with no date released as yet.
Africa’s mobile phone market is dominated by Chinese brands that sell models offering functionalities that are more sensitive to the needs of users on the continent, and are much cheaper than higher-end products from Apple and Samsung. Still, just one in four people in Africa owned a smartphone in 2024 compared to the global average of more than half, a recent GSMA study said, with affordability cited as the main reason for the trend.
