Blackberry Returns to Nigeria, Targets 10% Market Share

After many years that it was last seen in the Nigerian market, smartphone brand, Blackberry has returned to the country with the launch of Blackberry KEY2 LE. To reinforce its presence, it is targeting 10 percent market share in Nigeria by the end of 2019.

Speaking at the launch in Lagos on Monday, President/Chief Executive Officer, Ngilex Mobile (Blackberry Mobile Nigeria), Kingsley Obaji, explained that Nigeria remains a key market for mobile phone vendors.

He said “Blackberry is back with the Key 2 LE at a time when Nigeria is looking for a different smartphone with personality and character. It is powered by Android 8 Oreo and has access to the Google Play store. It also comes in slate, champagne and atomic colours. It has features to manage work, travel and personal life on the go. It also comes with account support. This is the first phone with dual account management for handling personal and professional social media profiles, independent of each other.

“It comes with dual SIM slots, extended battery life that lasts 22hours and a quick charge 3.0 charger. The smartphone also learns from your daily charging experience and calendar to preserve battery for a trip. On top of that, it goes from zero to 50 per cent after 35minutes of charging. The Key 2 is all about security and privacy that is why it comes with fingerprint unlock, a browser that deletes chat history after logging off and updates regularly to ensure the device stays updated, secure and virus free.”

Speaking on capturing 10% of the country’s smartphone market share, he said “We are looking at capturing some five per cent to 10 per cent market share within the next year and this requires a lot of efforts in marketing and outreach,”

The President Business Development, Ngilex Mobile Limited, Thomas Larson, stated that Blackberry chose Nigeria as the first recipient of the Key 2 in Africa because of the support the country’s business class gave the brand in the past.

Larson said, “We differentiated ourselves in the marketplace with this product by going after a balanced approach between personal and professional functionality. And so, we do not need to take 10 or 15 per cent of the Nigerian marketplace to be successful, we only want five per cent of the global landscape in this niche market.

December 03, 2018