Google Deal Puts Africa on Cusp of First Smartphone Plant
- Johannesburg manufacturing startup inks Google license pact
- Vodacom in talks to test smartphones from Onyx-Connect
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A Johannesburg startup is set to become the first company ever to manufacture smartphones in Africa, taking advantage of low costs and growing local demand to build handsets, tablets and other devices based on Google Inc.’s Android system.
Onyx Connect, a privately backed company that’s raised 150 million rand ($10.8 million), will begin production in the first quarter, according to Andre Van der Merwe, its sales director. The company is licensed to load Google software like Android and Chrome onto devices sold under its own brand or products it makes for others.