China-Africa Ties: From 'Made in China' to 'Designed for Africa'

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05:03

In Africa, the "Made in China" brand is getting stronger and stronger every passing day. Many locals say the Chinese manufacturers are not just selling Chinese products there, but they are customizing them to meet the requirements of the African market.

In Africa, the Made in China label is changing. Chinese manufacturers are raising their game with innovation, investment and integrity. They've moved into brand building with products that consumers crave.

"Hi guys, hi all so today we are going to be doing a makeup tutorial for you guys."

Maxine Wabosha is a university student in Kenya's capital Nairobi. She's also making a name for herself as a vlogger on Instagram and Youtube. Her only broadcast equipment is her China-designed, made-in-Africa Infinix phone.

MAXINE WABOSHA COLLEGE STUDENT "A lot of young people tend to draw towards these brands because we don't yet have a lot of money to spend on gadgets. But we still want that nice quality. So these Chinese brands really do help to come to that."

Transsion is a Chinese phone-maker with a unique strategy that's producing spectacular results in Africa. Its three phone brands - Tecno, Infinix and Itel are now among the top ten sellers on the continent. Its key breakthrough came in 2011 when it set up its first mobile phone assembly line in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The Shenzhen-based Chinese company has found its niche and purposefully dialed into the emerging African market.

MUKHTAR PARKER STORE OWNER "10 years ago no one would touch a product that is made in China because they were not sure about the quality of the product."

Mukhtar Parker is one of Transsion's main retail partners in Africa.

MUKHTAR PARKER STORE OWNER "But over time, they've perfected themselves and their quality is as good as any Japanese product."

With demand for mobile phones soaring in Africa, the Ethiopian government is encouraging technology and knowledge transfer. The government's investment incentives, including tax breaks have spurred Transsion to set up an assembly plant and a research lab that employ a 1,000 people on 12 production lines."

TIRSIT HAILU QUALITY SUPERVISOR, TRANSSION ETHIOPIA "I graduated from Addis Ababa University in the Department of Computer Science. Since I joined this company, it's been more than three years. I just trained in China and I was promoted as a quality supervisor."

"Kaka" Jared Odhiambo Odendo works for Transsion, but his personal passion hasn't gone unnoticed by the company. In his spare time, he volunteers at a gym in Huruma, a low-income residential area in Nairobi.

KAKA JARED ODHIAMBO KOM SUPERVISOR, TRANSSION KENYA "In Kenya, young people like sports. We started this gym to bring them together."

Transsion's Tecno brand is helping out with donations to attract more local youth to the facility. It also provided car-washing tools to help teach the young people a lesson about sustainability and urging them to raise their own funds for their gym.

Transsion seems to be re-versioning China's experience as an assembly plant for other countries’ products. The Chinese company was one of the first to take those lessons learned and develop its own exportable brands.

They're from Tanzania, working in Beijing dubbing a Chinese TV soap opera from Mandarin into Swahili.

Beijing-based StarTimes is behind this unlikely production.

Startimes is one of Africa's largest satellite TV providers with 12 million subscribers in more than 30 African countries. Startimes has dubbed dozens of Chinese television dramas into a number of African languages.

NYAMAYAO STANSLAUS DUBBING ARTIST, STARTIMES BEIJING "People will see these in our local languages. They will understand what Chinese speak, Chinese do maybe culture, different things."

In Kenya, StarTimes beams satellite signals carrying some 40 local and international channels to its subscribers at a market-busting price.

MARK LISBOA VICE PRESIDENT, STARTIMES KENYA "Before satellite TV and content from international providers came around, it was an expensive venture for Kenyans. When Startimes came around, it changed our vision for Africa really was making sure that pay TV was affordable, and everybody could enjoy."

REBECCA MUMO VILLAGE ELDER "With the TV also, there's a lot of communication. We know what Kenya is doing. We know what the rest of the world is doing and we are happy."

Chinese companies are planting deeper roots in Africa creating jobs, improving infrastructure and expanding their investment. They've established brands that demonstrate their commitment to working with partners in local communities."