‘Erratic power supply will not stop us from setting up mobile phone plant’

Can you tell us about your assembly plant for manufacturing ICT products in Nigeria? What stage is it now?We are putting up one of the biggest assembling plants in Nigeria, precisely in Osun State and currently, we have spent close to $10 million and we are aware we will still spend more, but that is […]

Can you tell us about your assembly plant for manufacturing ICT products in Nigeria? What stage is it now?
We are putting up one of the biggest assembling plants in Nigeria, precisely in Osun State and currently, we have spent close to $10 million and we are aware we will still spend more, but that is not to say that it is the a very big investment because we believe we can do more than that.
We have our Nigerian head office in Lagos, but we are building an assembling plant in Osun State, from where we will be able to produce and sell all RLG products in Nigeria.
We have a tagline which is “Proudly Yours’. This means we have brought the brand to Nigeria and it is owned by Nigerians and will be promoted by Nigerians.RLG is about the people of Africa, giving them the confidence that Africans can start very small in business, but can grow very big in the same business. Africa has always been a source of raw materials for other countries, which come to Nigeria and take away the raw materials and turn them into finished products. The finished products are later sold to us. That is the situation with Africans. We are supposed to be richer than any other country in the world, but we have allowed ourselves to be poor because of our own mindsets.
We have made ourselves a cash society, whereby we must save for everything we want to buy, unlike developed countries that get what they want first through credit facilities and then pay latter. If we begin to believe in the African brand like the products of RLG Communications, like the phones and laptops, and begin to patronise them, then we will go places and compete well with the developed countries. If we do that, we will be creating job opportunities for Nigerians.
We should believe in our own, learn from our mistakes, and this will go a long way in changing the mindset of our people. From our mistakes, we will learn more and change to become better manufacturers in the future.
On the challenge of electricity in the country, yes, we are aware of it but electricity challenge is everywhere in Africa and we cannot run away from it. In Ghana, we have electricity challenge and we have been coping in the last 12 years of production. We will have a way to overcome it in Nigeria, since we are very much aware that steady electricity is key to manufacturing.
How do you intend to promote local content in RLG products to be made in Nigeria?
In terms of local content, everything about our products has 100 percent local content. What most manufacturers do is to outsource some of their production line, but I promised that 100 per cent of the production contents will be sourced from Nigeria.
Also, as part of the local content infusion in all that we would be doing in the assembly plant, we will be seeing a lot of local applications from the phone. We are looking at local contents and our Research and Development Desk is already compiling various forms of available Nigerian software applications that will run on the phones.
We will have apps on local culture, e-commerce, e-education that are tailored to the Nigerian market. We are in the ICT world that create local contents to solve local solutions, and that is exactly what we are doing with the RLG phones.
What level of collaboration do you think you can have with existing firms in other to promote African ICT brands together?
We are passionate at collaborating with other Original Equipment Manufacturers in Nigeria. We strongly believe that it is better to play as a messenger in a $1 billion-investment company than to play as a boss in a zero-balance investment outfit.
It is of no use playing alone in a market that needs collaboration, so we are willing to collaborate in the interest of the countries where we operate. For example, the phone assembling plant in Osun State is not 100 per cent owned by RLG Communications. It is a partnership business between RLG and the Osun State government and we are happy to partner with the state because we believe in healthy collaboration.
On why we have chosen Osun among other states of the federation as the site for our assembly plant, the reason for this is simple: Osun State became the choice state because of the warm reception given us by the Osun State government and the people of Osun State.
We do not have particular choice for any state. If today, other states invite us, we will gladly go there to establish. We have written proposals to different state governments to partner them in training of their youths and in establishing in the states, and we are still waiting for their responses.
Also, in terms of market competition, yes we are aware of market competition but we are not scared of competition because of unique strategies and selling points. Today, we have strategies to distinguish our brand from all other brands in the world. We have three tiers of products that stand out anywhere, and in any day. We have the Easy Brand, which is a feature phone that is of general use for everybody.
We have the Viva Brand that is associated with the entry level of smartphones that comes with Twitter, Facebook and others. We also have the Uhuru laptop that gives freedom and flexibility of use. The Uhuru brand is a tablet and a smartphone combined, and all our products are strong and durable. We therefore have three categories of products that meet the demand of everyone.
Can you tell us about RLG Communications?
RLG Mobile has been in operation, manufacturing mobile phones in the past 12 years, and has just entered into the Nigerian market. In the last 12 years we have improved our products to a quality that can now appeals the eyes. The products are much stronger and better now, compared to what it used to be in the past, e have learnt from our mistakes and we are remain a better product the markets today. RLG has regional operations Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, China and United Arabs Emirate. Each region or country has regional autonomy and a legal entity.
What is the focus of the company?
The focus of RLG today is to become a leader in innovation with a vision of creating a strong African brand. If you ask me if we have an African brand today, my answer will be in the negative because Africans cannot single our something we can attest to. If someone is looking for an African brand to identify with, such person will find none. So this is an opportunity for us to be using ICT tools in producing our own brand and create jobs for the people.
Our relationship with various countries is to create jobs and promote jobs and promote the brand across. It is important to note that one can create jobs if he or she has the product. In creating jobs, we offer the society, valuable skills and gainfully engage the youths in the society. We offer skills that will enable them assemble computers and mobile phones. Our first encounter in Osun State is the training of over 20, 000 young Nigerian youths in Osun State, in collaboration with the state government that bankrolled the training cost for the trainees.