China’s Xiaomi Partners Jumia as it Officially Enters the African Market

After announcing a move to target the African market, Xiaomi has now followed it up with a big leap. The Chinese smartphone maker has announced a partnership with ecommerce heavyweight, Jumia.

Jumia will launch an official store presence for Xiaomi’s flagship product, Mi devices, says IT News Africa.

https://technext.ng/2019/01/31/xiaomi-set-open-shop-africa-chinese-smartphone-market-declines/

“This partnership is very important for us, as it will definitely foster the smartphone adoption in Africa as well as support e-commerce penetration,” says Jumia Group SVP, Romain Christodoulou.

Romain also says both companies share similar DNA and work towards delivering “affordable smartphones along with the best shopping experience.”

“This will be very beneficial for both companies and above all for the consumers in Africa,” says Romain.

This is the first move by Xiaomi, one of the world’s largest smartphone manufacturers since it announced its push into Africa recently. Several Chinese tech publications had revealed earlier in the year that the company was looking to setup a new department in Kenya.

This adventure is a serious survival mission as Xiaomi aims to broaden its reach beyond the Asian continent, particularly in India and China. The new department would be led by the company’s current Vice President and would work towards marketing Xiaomi devices across Africa.

Jumia signs a parternship with Xiaomi to let African (Mi Fans) consumers to easily access Xiaomi products. Offers the Redmi GO exclusively in Africa. https://t.co/71tLB4hpeZ#news #business #xiaomi #RedmiGo

— PC Tech Magazine (@pctechmagazine) March 5, 2019

With presence in 14 African countries, Jumia represents a huge entry point into the African market for the Chinese manufacturer. The new deal will see Jumia exclusively launch Xiaomi’s low-end device, the Xiaomi Go.

Xiaomi Go, which runs on Android Go, is Xiaomi’s go-to market strategy to sell more affordable devices. Importantly, the company is looking to mount a serious challenge to long time market leader, Transsion Holdings.

Great job #Xiaomi . This is #RedmiGo phone . Some spec: Android Go based on Android 8.1. , 5" HD display , sd410 , 1 gb of ram , 3000 mAh battery , 8 MP and 5 MP selfie cam. All that for 80 euros (~$91). AMAZING 🔥⚡️👏 pic.twitter.com/ELgLbEdCiL

— SMART TOUCH ID🎙📱 (@SmartTouchID) January 30, 2019

To be clear though, Xiaomi is not new to Africa and its devices have been sold on the continent since 2015. But much of these have been through partners and no direct market exposure.

But the decision to partner with Jumia is a quick inroad. And importantly, it saves the company marketing efforts that it would have had to do on its own.

Yet, it still has a lot of work and would still need a strong offline campaign to market its devices across the continent.