In 2019 in Rwanda, d'Ashish Thakkar inaugurated the first factory of Maraphones. This “made in Africa” smartphone brand is now distributed in Burkina Faso and England through various partners, and has made its designer one of the most famous African businessmen.
Felicien Houessou
In addition to its "high-tech" smartphone manufacturing plant in Africa, and two stores in the Rwandan capital, Ashish Thakkar's company has opened a production unit in Durban (east) in South Africa. and a sign in a shopping center in Soweto, a suburb of Johannesburg. Maraphones are exported to 67 countries. “This year, we should exceed 100 million dollars in turnover. There is an anti-Asian sentiment growing in many countries, which puts some Asian brands in trouble. Being an African brand is something very positive,” assures Ashish Thakkar.
Thanks to the Mara Group, which he founded in 1996 and which brings together companies in the finance, real estate and technology sectors, this businessman has become a true ambassador for a positive and innovative. Even if the Chinese giants largely dominate in the sector, Ashish Thakkar remains confident. “Of the three models that Mara offers, only one is classified as entry-level with a selling price of around 60 dollars. Thus, the “African smartphone for Africans has rather become a smartphone for Africa and the rest of the world”, assures Ashish Thakkar. The 39-year-old entrepreneur is in any case known for cultivating secrecy around the state of his finances and his business.