Xiaomi prepares for penetrating the African market in autumn. (Photo : Reuters)
After getting initial success in emerging markets such as Brazil and India, Xiaomi is setting its sights next on the African market by making product launches as early as September, according to China Business News.
The leading smartphone manufacturer will reportedly launch the Xiaomi 2 and four other smartphones in African counties, with prices of $160 and $320, respectively.
Xiaomi initially tried overseas markets by releasing its mobile phones in Hong Kong and Taiwan, followed by Singapore in 2014.
Lei Jun, the company's CEO, announced last year that Xiaomi would penetrate 10 countries in Asia, America and Europe, as well as Malaysia, Russia, Brazil and Turkey.
African markets were not part of the list during that time, but the region has become an emerging market potential for smartphones. Data from the GSM Association showed Sub-Saharan Africa having the fastest growth in the previous years, with 329 million self-sufficient smartphone users and 38-percent penetration rate as of June 2014.
According to market research firm IDC, Africa's total mobile phone sales went up 66 percent or 36 million units compared to the previous year, while smartphone sales jumped 47 percent.
IDC said that they are expecting to reach 155 million units this year from the combined smartphone sales of the African and Middle Eastern markets.
Xiaomi has reportedly selected Mobile in Africa to become its sales agent in Sub-Saharan Africa. RJ van Spaandonk, the company's founder, was previously the executive director of Core Group, Apple's sales representative in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mobile in Africa has built network stores in 14 African countries. Over 50 percent of South Africa and Kenya's mobile phone revenues can be attributed to smartphones, with Nigeria at about 30 percent, according to Spaandonk. About 20 million smartphones are expected to be sold this year in the three nations combined.
Industry experts are still to assess the feasibility of overseas sales model of Xiaomi, especially due to its patent concerns, which was a hurdle in India.
Being a relatively young company, Xiaomi still struggles with patent violation suits. Xiaomi's co-founder Lin Bin said last year that the firm will apply for over 2,000 patents in 2015, and will have more than 4,000 patents by the end of the year.
