It sure took a while but Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi has finally entered Africa. Recently South Africa were graced with the company’s cut-price presence, and we got to see first-hand a couple of the first handsets to enter SA. Now Xiaomi is expanding their reach to Nigeria, with the launch of the Redmi 2 and Mi 4 smartphones happening via MIA (Mobile In Africa) and online retailer Jumia.
The handsets will become available through a dedicated Jumia online store (the link isn’t active at the time of writing), “…in the second week of November”, which we’re almost at the end of. Since no official date has been given, it’ll have to be around Friday. Or whenever that online store goes live. Nigeria is a growing smartphone market so Xiaomi’s entry into the scene there make a lot of sense. Financially, at the very least.
The Redmi 2 is expected to sell on online portal Jumia for N29,000 (R2,070), with the Xiaomi Mi 4 will set buyers back N56,000 (just shy of R4,000), costs which are in line with what you can expect to pay for the phones here at home.
MIA Group’s RJ van Spaandonk said “We see Nigeria as a key country for smartphone growth and we are excited to be partnering with Jumia to offer consumers in Nigeria Xiaomi’s high-quality smartphones at amazing prices.”