The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has urged the smart device manufacturing and assembling company, Afrione to crash prices for more affordable devices.
He made the demand during a visit to Afrione corporate head office at the weekend in Lagos state. Abdullahi said that reduction of the price of the smart devices is possible, citing the example of sim cards which were expensive at the beginning but now they are almost free. Similarly, the mainframe and early computers were of high prices but today they are affordable.
Abdullahi said, “as regulators, we stimulate demand for digital devices and what can you do to crash your prices so more Nigerians can have access to smart devices”. DG NITDA commended Afrione for their improvement especially in the aspect of the new device as he was taken on a tour of the factory. Abdullahi also presented the strategic Road Map and Action Plan and encouraged them to do more.
While responding to Abdullahi's demand, the CFO Afrione, Suloch Raja, said the company’s smart devices “can be compared to Samsung or any other device in the world in terms of affordability and quality with a year warranty.” Raja added that “Afrione being the first African brand and first manufacturer and assembler in Africa as of today, is also planning to introduce new devices such as laptops which could be out by the end of the year.”
“Not a single tablet was sent back for anything regarding quality so we are confident that we will be able to get to your needs in cost and quality, slashing it down without compromising the quality,” said Raja. He added that “the devices will have specific educational applications that are being worked on, according to institutions such as universities, polytechnics and so on.”
“We are focusing on the universities and schools as of now so we can target the students in such a way that after the government subsidies, it becomes very standardized, affordable at the best price and quality, and in two years, we should have a classroom in each polytechnic”. “We would love to partner with NITDA, we assure you of our quality and would love to prove it.”
“We are currently working on getting after-sales service in every state, once the device has an issue in 24hours it should be repaired and we engage Nigerians in the Factory as 80% of the workers are Nigerians” CFO Afrione stated. Raja also stated that their initiative is to provide employment opportunities, develop skills, empower Nigerian youth and Nigerian Economy which is in line with the NITDA’s mandate.
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