Samsung is planning to unveil an assembly plant for laptops and televisions in Kenya by the end of the year, bringing down the price for local consumers.
Kenya and the rest of East Africa is currently served through imported products.
The announcement comes weeks after the company announced plans to open a similar assembly plant in Ethiopia. The company also has other assembly plants in South Africa, Sudan and Senegal.
New assembly plants across Africa are part of the company’s plan to enlarge its market base in the region.
The plant in Kenya is initially expected to employ 900 people directly and more than 1,000 in its supply and marketing chains, besides enhancing the transfer of knowledge, Samsung officials said.
“Samsung will initially ship in equipment parts or panels and assemble then here but will later move to the next stage of molding the body covers locally,” Robert Ngeru, Samsung’s chief operating officer in East Africa, told a local daily.
Samsung is also negotiating for tax incentives with the Kenyan government, for them to be able to increase the investments in the country.
