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Kenya has rolled out a new regulation requiring foreign smartphone manufacturers and car-tracking device companies to pay a mandatory $1,937 licensing fee to continue selling their products in the country.
The move, aimed at curbing the influx of counterfeit products, will certify foreign phone makers and distributors as authentic vendors in the Kenyan market.
Under the new rule, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Samsung and Transsion—the parent company of Tecno and Infinix, Kenya’s most popular smartphone brands—must pay the fee for a 15-year operating license.
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Additionally, they are required to remit 0.4% of their annual sales revenue in Kenya to the government.
While the government insists that the policy will protect consumers from substandard products, it has conveniently exempted local smartphone manufacturers and distributors from the licensing requirement.
Kenya may not be a primary market for global smartphone giants like Samsung—compared to Africa’s top three importers, South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria—but the fee is relatively low and unlikely to deter them from doing business in the country.
However, the same cannot be said for smaller foreign smartphone brands, which often cater to budget-conscious consumers. With unbranded or lesser-known devices controlling roughly 9.5% of the Kenyan smartphone market, the new fee may push some of these low-cost brands out of the market altogether.
For Kenyan consumers, this could spell trouble. Budget-friendly smartphones, which serve as a crucial entry point to digital connectivity, may become harder to find. Distributors, forced to work exclusively with established brands that can afford the licensing fees, may also pass on the additional costs to consumers—raising the price of smartphones at a time when the cost of living is already high.
Kenya is not the first African country to impose such a regulation. Egypt recently introduced similar measures, increasing taxes on foreign smartphone companies that do not manufacture locally.
However, for Kenya’s policy to be effective, strict enforcement will be key. If loopholes remain, counterfeit phones could still find their way into the market, undermining the government’s objectives.
Ultimately, while the initiative could help regulate the smartphone industry and strengthen local businesses, the true cost will likely be borne by everyday Kenyans—who may have to dig deeper into their pockets for a device that was once affordable.
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