Chinese mobile phone seller Transsion was set to go public in Chinese IPO. Transsion sold over 124 million phones globally in 2018, and they hold 54% of the feature phone market in Africa through its brands Tecno, Infinix and Itel.

 

Transsion also has retail shops in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia, and plans to spend about USD 227 Mn of the raise in building more phone assembly hubs. Also, their expansion in African market raised company’s valuation to $3.95 Bn.

 

Africa has led the world in mobile take-up growth in the past few years, but continues to undergo a conversion from basic USSD phones, to feature phones, to smartphones. Still, the smartphone penetration is 34% though it is expected to grow to 67% by 2025.

 

If Transsion’s IPO enables higher smartphone penetration in Africa, that could enable more startups and startup opportunities

 

Reference: WeeTracker

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