Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
One of Africa’s leading telecommunication giants, Orange, has announced the Sanza touch – an exclusive smartphone and the most affordable 4G Android device globally and supported by Google.
The average cost of an entry-level smartphone in Africa still exceeds 60 per cent of average monthly income making smartphones largely inaccessible for the majority of the population, hence the rollout aims to make access to smartphones cheaper.
The device will retail around $30 (N11,500) and the ultra-affordable price point is intended to make it the most accessible on the market with the goal of driving digital inclusion and providing more people access to mobile internet.
The Sanza touch is an accessible alternative for everyone due to its price point and features including the Payjoy application, which allows customers to overcome budget issues by paying for their smartphone over several instalments (depending on availability in their country). As at now, this is only available Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Madagascar.
This 4G Android (Go edition) smartphone has a 4” screen, 8GB memory and a 1750mAh battery, offering over 4 hours battery life while streaming videos. Customers can use the Orange app collection (My Orange, Orange Money and Livescreen to stay informed on the latest news trends) and access the most popular apps including YouTube Go, Google Go, Facebook and WhatsApp.
The Sanza range was first launched in April 2019 in 13 countries in Africa and the Middle East (Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Jordan, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Sierra Leone and Tunisia), making it easier for many customers to come online for the first time and discover the benefits of connectivity.
From next month, the Sanza touch smartphone will be available with a bundled mobile data plan (voice, SMS, data) at around $30. It will be sold in most countries in the Middle East and Africa region, starting with Guinea Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire and Madagascar.
Speaking on this, Mr Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa said, “Orange wants to strongly accelerate access to connectivity on the African continent. One of the barriers to Internet use is the price and ease of use of most smartphones.
“The partnership with Google to offer the Sanza touch smartphone for sale will enable us to solve this problem thanks to its affordable price and advanced functionalities. While 90 per cent of the world’s population is now covered by mobile broadband, 3.3 billion people who live in areas covered by mobile broadband remain unconnected for reasons such as affordability, low levels of literacy and digital skills.”
On the part of Google, Ms Mariam Abdullahi – Director, Platform Partnerships, Android and Play – Africa for Google added: “Our mission at Google has always been to “Organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible to everyone”. We deliver this mission through the building and providing our products and services via key partnerships like this one with Orange.
“We are excited about the endless possibilities this Sanza touch smartphone will present in learning, economic opportunities and digital accessibility. The Goal of our Android devices, including this first-of-its-kind highly affordable Android (Go edition) device, is to bring the power of computing equitably to all.
“We can only achieve this mission if everyone is able to access devices at affordable price points to use in their daily lives and have access to the benefits presented by the digital world.”
Orange is present in 18 countries in Africa and the Middle East where it has over 124 million customers with 5.6 billion euros in turnover in 2019 and 6 per cent annual growth, Orange MEA is the Group’s main region of growth. Orange Money, its mobile-based money transfer and financial services offer is available in 17 countries and has 54 million customers. Orange, a multi-service operator, benchmark partner of the digital transformation, provides its expertise to support the development of new digital services in Africa and the Middle East.
