Verone Mankou, an entrepreneur from Congo and founder of startup company VMK, has grand ambitions of pushing Africa forward in the mobile market and his latest devices are brimming with potential. VMK’s Way-C tablet and the Elikia smartphone have just been launched earlier this week and are the company’s freshest gadgets to hit the tech market. Both the devices come in a surprisingly large range of colours as well as an impressive set of specifications for the price and the demographic they are targeted at.
Elikia runs on Google’s Android operating system and features a 3.5-inch display, 512 MB RAM and a 5 megapixel camera. The smartphone features in a range of colours including black, white, and pink and is priced at $170. The Way-C tablet, weighing in at a bit over 13 ounces, comes with a 7 inch display and is just half an inch thick. The tablet comes with internal memory of 4 GB and along with Wi-Fi connectivity. The Way-C tablet retails at $300. At a reasonably healthy price tag and a handsome combo of capable software with aesthetic yet sturdy hardware, both these devices represent a first when it comes to affordable smart devices for Africa.
While VMK’s devices are extremely popular in Africa, the devices may not do as well in the global market, particularly due to the floating speculations that could hurt VMK’s reputation. According to SmartPlanet, a website which features relevant news stories and expert-guided advice and discussions, the Way-C and Elikia are devices that have been manufactured by original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in China and are not authentic VMK products. In response, VMK has included a section in its website to tackle and counter these speculations as well as defend against claims made about the devices’ lack of authenticity. The company pointed out that the use of external OEMs was unlikely considering that VMK is collaborating with worldwide operator Airtel, a company which would refrain from doing so if VMK had been compromising the authenticity and quality of their devices.
Verone Mankou also cleared the air on the concerns and speculations revolving VKM’s gadgets being produced in China. He pointed out that Congo has no factories and this, coupled with some price issues, was the very simple reason why VMK had to have their devices manufactured in China. He has assured that this does not, in any way, take away from the African flavour that the company has worked towards integrating into their gadgets. The devices continue to be a rage in the African continent and, despite the problems and potential landmines in VMK’s way, Mankou is confident of breaking into the global market soon.
