Transsion Holdings’ brand Tecno Mobile announced Thursday that it would launch a mobile money service in Kenya by mid-this month, Business Daily Africa reported. The brand piloted its wallet last month in Nigeria and plans to organize launches in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal by the end of 2022.
Tecno smartphone users will use the wallet for a range of services, including buying products from small businesses and retailers, purchasing data and airtime, and paying their bills.
APO Group issued a press release on behalf of TECNO Mobile, which explains that the Tecno Wallet aims to “build a digital and financial hub and lifestyle platform that aggregates products, services, and merchants from across the market, allowing TECNO users to transact, access credit and enjoy exclusive rewards and promotions as soon as they unbox their smartphone.”
According to the statement, users will download the wallet on selected existing smartphone series, and the wallet will also be readily available as a pre-installed app on new Tecno smartphones.
China’s most admired brand in Africa
In its 2022 report, Brand Africa ranks Tecno as the sixth most admired brand in Africa, all categories included. It was also the first Chinese brand in the ranking, followed by two other Transsion Holdings brands, namely Itel and Infinix. They ranked 15th and 25th respectively.
The three smartphone brands also led Africa’s smartphones and feature phones market, with a combined share of 47.9 percent of Africa’s smartphones market and 78 percent of Africa’s feature phones market in the 4th quarter of 2021, according to data from the International Data Corporation.
Taping into Africa’s booming fintech sector
Tecno Mobile is now seeking to use its leadership in the smartphone market to tap into the continent’s burgeoning fintech sector. The press release explains, “according to a 2022 global study conducted by VISA (https://vi.sa/3MwhUFY), more than 40 percent of consumers have already embraced cashless transactions or will only use digital payments within the next two years. Additionally, 59 percent of small business owners stated they plan to exclusively accept digital payments within the same timeframe.” And Africa is no different.
A 2018 report by McKinsey presented Africa’s payment and banking market as the second-fastest growing and second-most profitable in the world, after Latin America. Such growth has translated into increased investment in the sector and the rise of several startups and services with which Tecno Wallet will be competing.
