Explainer: What you need to know about the first Made in Egypt Samsung smartphone

Zeinab El-Gundy , Thursday 27 Oct 2022

The Mobile Phone Division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce announced on Tuesday that South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate Samsung has released its first-ever Made in Egypt Galaxy A13 (SM-A137F/DS) smartphone in the local market.

Samsung
File Photo: Samsung factory in Beni Suef, Egypt. Photo courtesy of Gama construction website.

 

Ahram Online compiled some of the information and specifications of the smartphone:

  • The smartphone belongs to the Galaxy A series, Samsung's line of economical and entry-level smartphones.
  • The new smartphones are currently available from Samsung distributors nationwide.
  • Imported Samsung Galaxy A13's are currently priced between EGP 4,600-5,700.
  • According to Walid Ramadan, the vice president of the Mobile Phone Division, production of the new smartphone in Egypt came after three months of talks and will likely cost less than imported models.
  • The new smartphone is being produced at the Samsung factory in Beni Suef governorate, which was inaugurated in 2013.
  • The $270 million Beni Suef factory was Samsung's first factory in the Middle East.
  • The Beni Suef factory mainly produces TVs and tablets, 85 percent of which are exported to Middle Eastern countries, as well as to 36 African countries.
  • The factory provides over 2,000 jobs to Egyptians, mostly locals in Upper Egypt.
  • The Egyptian government is working to localise the mobile phone industry to meed the demands of the local market and regional exports to the Middle East and Africa.
  • In 2019, Egyptian technology company SICO officially launched the first locally manufactured Egyptian smartphone (Nile X) with investments worth over $23 million.
  • Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Vivo has a factory in the 10th Ramadan city in Sharqiya governorate worth $20 million that provides 1,500 jobs.
  • In August 2022, Egypt’s Etisal for Advanced Industries (EAI) signed a cooperation agreement with HMD International the owner of Nokia  to assemble one million Nokia mobile phones at the EAI factory in 6th October city before the end of the year.
  • In September 2022, Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese mobile phone company Oppo to establish a mobile phone factory in Egypt with investments of $20 million.
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