S Africa startup set to be first firm to make smartphones in Africa

Johannesburg

A JOHANNESBURG startup is set to become the first company ever to manufacture smartphones in Africa, taking advantage of low costs and growing local demand to build handsets, tablets and other devices based on Google Inc's Android system.

Onyx Connect, a privately backed company that has raised 150 million rand (S$15.6 million) from investors, will begin production in the first quarter, according to Andre Van der Merwe, its sales director. The company is licensed to load Google software like Android and Chrome onto devices sold under its own brand or products it makes for others.