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China’s Tecno Brand Dominates Kenyan Mobile Phone Market

by Eric Olander
Tecno store in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo by Cliff Mboya/CGSP.

Kenya’s mobile phone market shrank by 9% in the first quarter of the year, according to new data from technology consultancy IDC, but even a drop that large didn’t budge Transsion’s Tecno brand from the top spot in the market.

Tecno led smartphone sales in the January-March period with 27.1% of the market, followed by Samsung (23%) and Safaricom (13%). The Chinese company’s lead in feature phone sales was even more pronounced where it dominates with 37% of the market, followed closely by its sister-brand Itel (36%) and Nokia (23%).

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