Think back five, 10 years ago. Phones were almost a luxury that few could afford. This of course, has changed. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to find someone who does not own a mobile phone. In fact, more and more people have a smart phone of one kind or another. And as the number of Smart phone users has increased, likewise has the demand for durable and easily movable power chargers, namely power banks. But unlike the previously imported ones, what is unique is that locally assembled ones are dominating the market of power banks.
In addition to T-plus mobile, which began assembling power banks and selling it to the local market two years ago, there are now two more companies that recently joined the sector, Ruggas and Hidasse. In mobile accessory shops that display power banks, in place like Merkato, Bole, and Saris, most of them are equipped with the aforementioned local brands.
“As my job is very demanding and I conduct a number of communications with my customers and I mostly do it via my S3 Samsung galaxy phone, I have to be online constantly, and for this, my phone has to always be available and charged,” says Mikias Gebregiorgis, a manager at www.Betoch.net and www.mekina.com, which deal with houses and vehicles, respectively. “I receive a number of messages from my customers and I have to frequently update and review the website as the request either to rent houses, sell or buy comes through it,” he added.
With power banks, which he has been using for two years, he has ensured that his mobile is fully charged. However, he has since then shifted from imported to locally assembled brands, which he said work the same.
The locally assembled power bank he uses now has 4,400mAh, which is twice his mobile’s 2,100mAh, which means he can fully charge his mobile phone twice.
Ruggas Mobile Battery & Power Bank Manufacturing Plc, established almost two years ago with initial capital of 3.4 million Br, according to Abdu Yimer, co-owner and manager of the company.
The company, located around Mekanisa, west side of Addis Abeba on a 400sqm plot of land, has been assembling power banks and batteries with different features and kinds for the past six months.
For instance, starting from 2,200mAh of power banks to 20,000mAh, each with a price tag ranging from 110 Br to 600 Br of factory price and batteries that can fit with Nokia and Samsung mobiles have been assembled by the company. The power banks are designed with six types of colours. Moreover, in addition to power banks that only charge using electricity, Ruggas has also assembled ones that charge with both solar power and electricity; this one has storage capacity of 5,000mAh and costs around 350 Br.
According to Yonathan Binyam, the owner of Dream mobile, a shop which sells different mobile accessories, a power bank, which has 4,400 mAh is preferred by the average customer. Most of them are customers that have a busy schedule and communicate a lot, Yonathan told Fortune.
As they can charge most smart phones, be it Galaxy S3 or i-phone 6, which has the storage capacity of 1,810mAh, one USB port with one milliamp per hour output, cables which fit with four kinds of mobiles phones, they are very popular.
“I only have locally assembled power banks in my stock,” said Yonathan.
The market has given us the opportunity and we believe we have the capacity to compete with power banks imported from outside, said Abdu.
The company imports its raw materials, which is the part and parcel of the assembled power bank from Hungary, China and Taiwan.
The locally assembled brands are better than imported brands, says Abdu, because they are assembled from better quality parts. This claim is shared by Muna Jemal, a sales woman at Abrate Mobile Accessory center, which is located on the first floor of Yirga Haile mall in Merkato, Fitawrari Gebeyebu Street. She has power banks imported from China called Mi power bank in stock, but she realizes that the market is now dominated by locally assembled ones.
The locally assembled ones have a price which is affordable for average customers and in terms of quality, it is competitive, said Muna. She had Mi power banks with two types, 5,200mAh and 10,400mAh, which only have one type of cable compatible with Samsung mobile, they cost 480 Br and 700 Br, respectively.
Another player and pioneer in the power bank market is T-plus, which has been assembling power banks from 2,000mAh to 26,400mAh since its commencement two years ago.
The price of T-plus power banks ranges from 108 Br up to 600 Br, according to Surafel Bezuayehu, sales manager at one of the sales shops of T-plus, at the same mall Muna sells power banks.
The third player in the market is Hidase Mobile & Television manufacturing company, which began assembling power banks this year at its factory in Alemgena. “Since we are in process of testing the power banks, it is too early to talk about the current production capacity of the company,” Tesfaye Worku, Marketing Manager of Hidase, told Fortune. “We believe there is a huge opportunity within the local market for our products.”
Hidase is also engaged in assembling flat screen Light Emitting Diode (LED) televisions, mobile cable chargers and mobile phones.
