With the help of premium mobile phones made in Uganda by Mione, a company that makes mobile devices and has an assembly plant in Mbale City, Eastern Uganda, at least 500,000 Ugandans can now use mobile telecoms services. Mione, a United Arab Emirates company with its headquarters based in Dubai, has sold at least
500,000 feature phones in Uganda after the company began operating there at the beginning of this year.
After beginning operations in Uganda early this year, the company has sold 500,000 feature phones in the country.
“We are excited to see Ugandans welcome and embrace locally-assembled phones to meet their every communication need,” stated Shirley, Chairman of Mione, in an exclusive interview. Being a part of this new endeavor that upholds the principles of Buy Uganda, Build Uganda (BUBU) makes Mione proud.
In addition to giving hundreds of Ugandans jobs, we enable our consumers to enjoy superior products at more affordable costs by assembling phones locally. All of our feature phones, including the three best-selling AB1/AB3/AB6 models, have a 2.5D drop-proof screen and a strong flashlight that can be turned on and off with a side button,” she continued.
With a net addition of 958,000 new mobile devices, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) Q3 Market Report, which was published in August 2023, indicates that mobile phone use has increased in the nation.
Between December 2022 and March 2023, the number of devices in Uganda using the telecom network increased by 3%, totaling 39.1 million. This increase is mostly attributable to the growing use of feature and smart devices, which increased by 3% on a quarterly basis to 24.5 million and 12.6 million, respectively, according to a portion of the report.
In the same year, the number of feature phones fell by 9% to 1.85 million devices, despite the overall growth in mobile phone usage. The number of new active SIM cards registered in the three months before March 2023 corresponds with the net addition of new mobile devices. “The market’s ability to adjust to new hardware releases, like e-sims, as well as the growth in digitalization and e-commerce, is demonstrated by the trend of adopting smart and feature gadgets over time, which signals ongoing technological advancements.”
The President of the Republic of Uganda, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, praised companies like Mione for the excellent work they are doing and investing in Uganda to create more jobs for Ugandans during a visit to the Sino Uganda-Mbale Industrial Park, where the Mione assembling plant is located, in August of this year.
“I’m delighted the Chinese government is pushing Chinese businesses to make investments in Africa. I am really grateful to them,” Museveni remarked.
