Tecno Fever in Ghana: Chinese smartphones wow Africans with excellent selfies

World
Europe

02:37

What's the most popular smartphone brand in Africa? Well, some folks in Ghana say it's China's Tecno; not to be confused with the music genre of the same name. The brand is hardly known across China, since Africa is its major market. CGTN reporter He Weiwei takes us to Ghana in west Africa to find out the secret behind Tecno's success there.

This shopping outlet is one of the busiest places in Accra, Ghana's capital city. More cellphones are sold here than anywhere else in the country. And the best-seller? Tecno. Half a million Tecno phones are sold every month from these shops and vendors. So what do most buyers love about them?

"I love selfies, I take selfies with my friends, my colleagues, almost everything."

"It's very very good, when you take a picture, it's very clear, any time, day or night, it's very clear."

Manufactured in China, Tecno entered Africa in 2008. It offered most people here their first glimpse of a smartphone. It provides customized selfie modes for African consumers.

WANG HAIBIN, GENERAL MANAGER HARDWARE CENTER, TRANSSION HOLDINGS "We followed African customers' preferences for beauty. For example, they like darker eyebrows, prominent noses, and they want skin that looks smooth and bright. So we developed our products to meet their demands."

What's more, Tecno phones also offer dual sim-cards, long-lasting batteries and quick access to repair.

HE WEIWEI ACCRA, GHANA "Another reason Tecno has stayed so competitive in Africa, the company's after-sale service. Here in major cities in Ghana, like the capital Accra, it only takes three days at most to fix a phone."

A software problem can be fixed at any service center instantly. For hardware issues, the phones are sent to a maintenance factory for further examination and repair.

MAXWELL TECHIE AUTHORIZED DEALER OF TECNO IN GHANA "Tecno is very very popular, in fact, it's a household name in Ghana. It's winning the most popular smartphone brand in Ghana now."

SOLACE AKPAGLI SHOP MANAGER OF TECNO IN ACCRA, GHANA "They (customers) do ask us whether it's made in Ghana, and we tell them that it's made in China, they say 'wow, it's good'. They love the phone."

Recent reports from Canalys – a market research company show that Tecno and its sister brands under the same manufacturer had 38% of the market share in Africa for the first quarter of this year, ranking it number one across the continent. HWW, CGTN, Accra, in Ghana.