Egypt factory to produce accessories for Chinese smartphone giant

Egypt recently saw the official opening of the Silicon Valley Factory for Electronic Industries that manufactures wearable mobile phone accessories – such as smartwatches and Bluetooth headphones – for Chinese smartphone powerhouse Transsion Holdings. Through its brands like Infinix, Itel, and Tecno, Transsion has a close to 50% share of the African smartphone market. 

The factory, owned by Egypt's Uni-Group, features three production lines for electronics accessories, with each line capable of producing 3,000 units daily. Situated in the Sokhna Industrial Zone, near the Suez Canal's southern entrance, the facility is part of the greater 455km Suez Canal Economic Zone that aims to offer investors a business-friendly environment. The General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone is focused on developing the area as a hub for electronics manufacturing, especially to supply other African markets.

Egypt is attracting a growing number of Asian mobile phone manufacturers. Last year, Chinese smartphone maker Vivo inaugurated an 11,000sqm factory in 10th of Ramadan City, part of the Greater Cairo region. Additionally, China’s OPPO is investing US$20m to build a new facility which will have the capacity to produce 4.5m smartphones annually for the Arab and African markets. Korea’s Samsung has also announced a 6,000sqm smartphone factory in Beni Suef, 110km south of Cairo. Construction was to start in the fourth quarter of 2023. This facility will manufacture the latest Samsung smartphone models and contribute to the transfer of technology and technical know-how, supporting the localisation of the mobile phone industry in Egypt.

To position Egypt as a centre for electronics manufacturing, the government has introduced various incentives to lure foreign investors, including tax breaks and subsidies. Earlier this year, Samsung was granted the government's newly introduced Golden Licence, which consolidates the regulatory approvals required from multiple government agencies into a single-step process. This significantly streamlines the investment procedure, reducing both time and effort for investors.

Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has unveiled projects worth EGP643m (US$20.8m) aimed at boosting the growth of the electronics design and manufacturing sector, including the establishment of globally accredited testing and quality laboratories. Additionally, it intends to create a hub for electronics manufacturing, and support startups in this field, within the Knowledge City. Situated in the New Administrative Capital, Knowledge City is conceived as a technological centre dedicated to fostering innovation, research, and education.

References

China’s Transsion dominates smartphone market in Africa’, The Africa Report, 19 March 2021

‘Communications Minister inspects new Vivo phone factory in Egypt, investments worth $30m’, Daily News Egypt, 24 July 2022

‘The Golden License for investment projects’, Andersen, 09 November 2022

‘IDSC: Egypt to become regional hub for electronics’, Egypt Today, 08 February 2023

‘Global electronic manufacturers expanding into Egypt’, Ahram Online, 16 April 2023

‘ICT Minister receives head of Samsung Electronics-Egypt’, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, 02 June 2023

‘3 mobile giants set up factories in Egypt with 20 million devices production capacity’, Daily News Egypt, 04 July 2023

‘Egypt grants golden license to Samsung for mobile phone factory’, Ahram Online, 30 August 2023

‘Egypt launches first factory for wearable mobile accessories in Africa, Middle East’, Egypt State Information Service, 03 October 2023

‘SCZONE celebrates the opening of the first factory for wearable mobile accessories in Africa within Sokhna Industrial Zone’, Suez Canal Economic Zone, 03 October 2023

‘From vision to reality: Egypt's booming electronics sector sees 7 key projects’, Egypt Today, 07 October 2023