Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has urged Afrione, a smart device manufacturing and assembling company, to crash its device prices for more affordability.
He made the demand during a visit to Afrione corporate head office on Thursday in Lagos state.
Abdullahi said that the reduction of the price of the smart devices is possible, citing the example of SIM cards which were expensive at the beginning but now are almost free. Similarly, the mainframe and early computers were of high prices but today are affordable.
“As regulators, we stimulate demand for digital devices and what you can do to crash your prices so that more Nigerians can have access to smart devices,” he said.
The NITDA DG commended Afrione for their improvement especially in the aspect of the new device as he was taken on a tour of the factory.
Abdullahi also presented NITDA’s Strategic Road Map and Action Plan and encouraged them to do more.
Responding, the Chief Financial Officer of Afrione, Suloch Raja, said the company’s smart devices “can be compared to Samsung or any other device in the world in terms of affordability and quality with a year warranty.”
Raja added that “Afrione being the first African brand and first manufacturer and assembler in Africa as of today, is also planning to introduce new devices such as laptops which could be out by the end of the year.”
“Not a single tablet was sent back for anything regarding quality, so we are confident that we will be able to get to your needs in cost and quality, slashing it down without compromising the quality,” said Raja.
He added, “The devices will have specific educational applications that are being worked on, according to institutions such as universities, polytechnics and so on.
“We are focusing on the universities and schools as of now so we can target the students in such a way that after the government subsidies, it becomes very standardized, affordable at the best price and quality and in two years, we should have a classroom in each polytechnic.
“We would love to partner with NITDA; we assure you of our quality and would love to prove it.
“We are currently working on getting after-sales service in every state. Once the device has an issue in 24hours, it should be repaired; and we engage Nigerians in the factory as 80% of the workers are Nigerians.”
Raja also stated that their initiative is to provide employment opportunities, develop skills, empower Nigerian youth and the Nigerian economy which is in line with the NITDA’s mandate.
