On a hectic road in Lagos, Nigeria, packed with minibuses and motorized rickshaws, ads for the hottest new tech products are plastered all over a crowded electronics mart. A giant billboard looms above, displaying Tecno Mobile Ltd.’s Camon phones featuring artificial intelligence imaging. There are glass cases facing the sidewalks chock-full of sub-$150 smartphones from Infinix Mobility Ltd. and Itel Mobile Ltd. A wide banner shows off Oraimo SpacePods with earbud audio tuning by Afrobeat superstar Burna Boy.
These brands may not be familiar to most Americans or Europeans, but they’re dominant throughout Africa. They’re also all owned by the same company: the Chinese manufacturer Shenzhen Transsion Holdings Co.
