Ditech Phones Innovator Strikes Deal With beMobile
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday July 11, 2016 18:00
Speaking during an interview with Business Monitor, Dichaba said he was excited when the mobile operator signed a three-year contract with them after their deal in Uganda.
“We first secured a deal in Uganda about three years ago where we sold about 4,000 units, and we were extremely grateful when we managed to get a contract with beMobile. This shows that they believed in our innovation which motivated us,” he said.
Dichaba, who is grateful for the support he got, said his mobile phone is available in most mobile phone shops across the country including Mobile Joint, Yash Cells, Pep Stores, Zain Collections and beMobile shops.
According to Dichaba, he has also managed to secure more international deals securing contracts in other African countries, which include Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Ghana, Zambia and Namibia with his own creation.
He said they intend to be the preferred service manufacturer in Africa hence why they have been identifying strategic partners in other African countries to achieve this. He noted that they have been testing their mobile phones in other African countries and are expecting positive feedback.
He also emphasised that they need to find more funding so that they will be able to deliver on their contracts adding that they are still in dialogue with other companies in Kenya and Tanzania to get contracts.
“Africans love our product; we have recently secured contracts in DRC and Zimbabwe and we need more capital to roll out phones to these markets because the demand is huge,” he said.
Pioneer phone uses Android 4.4 operating system providing an easy application downloads and is equipped with a four-inch screen to illuminate vision with crystal clear images. The screen resolution is 800 by 480 pixels and has 512 MB random access memory and 4gb memory storage capacity. It also has a two-mega pixel illuminated back camera with a background that can capture video recordings.
The smart phone also has Di Apps, which has an application development, which stimulates local content. It actually includes a number of apps created by locals. Di Apps includes Maele le Diane app, Thanodi (Translator) app, learn Setswana app, which offers different languages spoken in Botswana.
Dichaba said currently they design their products locally and outsource manufacturing, adding that they will be doing it at their own factory towards the end of the year.