Chinese firm Engo has started the construction of a plant to manufacture and assemble mobile phones and laptop computers in Uganda. The firm is setting up its plant in Namanve, Uganda's flagship industrial park. The construction work is expected to last six months. Ares Chow Yu Qing, the executive director Engo, said the firm plans to bring the first generation of products manufactured and assembled from the plant to market before the end of the year.
Chow says the plant will rely on Chinese imported motherboards, screens, touch panels, batteries, cameras and speaker receivers and vibrators as well as circuits for the domestic manufacture of the phones until qualified workers have been trained to undertake the commercial process from Uganda.
According to Chow, the firm will invest USD 15 million over five years to increase the production capacity from initial 1 million mobile phone gadgets a year to its maximum. The firm's trademark is known as Simi Mobile and will produce both cheap analogue and smartphones.
