Citizen company opens electronics assembly plant

52172,Oageng Batenegi,, | Sunday May 1, 2016 00:00

Taking the media on a familiarisation tour recently, the chief executive officer (CEO), Monametsi Kalayamotho said they found it fit to come together as shareholders to form a company that will provide access to quality technology at reasonable prices.

He said the plant aims to assemble and distribute gadgets, from entry to premium level while being competitive with already established international brands. “We aim to penetrate the market by providing a tailor-made solution for the Botswana market. With this plant almost ready for operation, with an aim to have everything set up by November this year, we will be employing a total of 250 Batswana. Most of these are young brilliant minds who have an opportunity to work with a new brand with great ambitions,” he said.

Kalayamotho said the strategy of the company is to access the already existing multimillion-pula laptop and cellphone market. He said Almaz aims to be the biggest technology products distributor in the country and the region in the next few years. “We are certain of our quality and aim to be devices of choice in government, parastatals, corporate and the retail market space,” he said. He said they are looking forward to help the government in its economic diversification drive.

The CEO added that they are coming in as a 21st century “disrupter” in the technology market with the aim of challenging the traditional brands. “With hard work, Almaz should be a household name in technology space not only in Botswana but in Africa too,” Kalayamotho said. He added that they are ready for challenges such as cyber crime, as their gadgets will boast high quality security features when answering a question from one journalist.

When demonstrating to the media some of the gadgets already made, the chief operations officer (COO), Louis Sibanda said their company intends to “aggressively” penetrate the technology market. Sibanda showed members of the media some of their gadgets, including a variety of laptops, tablets and computer monitors with portable central processing unit (CPU) devices. The products are expected to be officially launched beginning of this month. Sibanda said their smartphones are still awaiting approval from Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS).

Sibanda added that Almaz would also be able to assemble products according to customer specifications. “We can tailor make products to our customer needs, that is customised branding,” emphasised Sibanda who added they are developing a very good relationship with Botswana Innovation Hub.

He also said some of the products will be made according to the needs of the education sector to be used by teachers and students.