NAIROBI, KENYA
Smart phones and tablets are no longer gadgets of the rich and the tech-savvy. They have become must-haves for companies and individuals for on-the-move communication. And this means happy times for Sunberry Communications Ltd, a Kenyan company that is marketing its own brand of tablet PCs and smart phones. The SunTab is a seven-inch tablet PC, while the SunPhone is a 4.3-inch smart phone brand. Both run on the Google Android platform, the same platform that powers Samsung, Huaweii and HTC devices.
Sunberry is what you would call an original design manufacturer, says Mr Ambrose Olwa, Sunberry’s General Manager. He said Sunberry designed and branded the devices but subcontracted the actual manufacturing to a third-party contractor in China. “This is a normal industry standard with even Apple manufacturing its iPad devices entirely in China,” he said. To Mr Olwa, Sunberry provides affordable gadgets for developing markets like Kenya. He says the focus is on building value-added services, mainly local applications and content, backed by affordable data devices.
He said if people can’t afford the hardware, then they can’t experience the services. “We want to make the devices a mass market product that ordinary students and business professionals can purchase and use. That’s why we have made them affordable. We want users to buy the hardware so that we can sell the services such as content and local apps to them.”
Started in 2010, Sunberry has been offering SMS-based premium services to small and medium enterprises. It shifted to providing mobile data services and plans to launch its own applications store. “We are providing a local market for content owners and mobile application developers,” said Mr Olwa. “This is the only way that the technology industry can grow. Focus must now shift from provision of data connection to creating financial value from local content.”
Kenyan consumers are savvy, and vendors of devices, content and apps are constantly innovating to keep pace with the changing tastes. Sunberry’s strategy is to customise its devices by bundling relevant content and selling the devices to niche markets. “Our focus areas are education, financial services and health,” Mr Olwa said. “We believe that these sectors will experience the largest growth in usage of Tablet PCs. We are seeking content partners in these sectors as well. We want to position the SunTab as the tablet PC of choice for professionals in these sectors.”
Sunberry is partnering with local telecom providers to make the SunTab available to the retail market. The SunTab is available in all major Orange shops. It’s retailing at only 23,999 and bundled with one-month free internet. The device runs on the Goggle Android platform (2.3) and comes with an 8GB internal storage and expandable 32GB Micro SD external memory, full multimedia and a 4000 mAh extended battery power that gives you more than seven hours with WIFI on. The SunTab also has an internal modem for internet connection via a simcard that also allows enables the SunTab to function as an ordinary phone.
Asked about the Communication Commission of Kenya’s campaign against counterfeit phones, Mr Olwa said: “We generally approve of CCK’s efforts to ensure that Kenyan consumers use genuine products. Sunberry already has a telecom vendor licence and are awaiting a type approval certificate from the CCK. Our devices will definitely not be affected as they are genuine products of high quality.”
As the Kenyan telecoms market continues to evolve, Sunberry is poised to clinch its share of the market with its bold new product and aggressive innovation. “Next time you come across a consumer with a SunTab, know that he is using a Kenyan innovation,” he said.
This story appears in the Nairobi Business Monthly, September edition, now selling in the supermarkets and vendors
Leave a comment