General News
For TECNO, It’s Customers First- Qin
Nicholas Qin is the chief operating officer, Tecno Mobile Limited and he believes that it is not good to try to stop knowledge from going forward.
He spoke to Samson enato.
Overview of TECNO and Nigerian Footprint
In the year 2008, TECNO decided to focus on Africa as its key market and accordingly launched TECNO brand strategy.
Through three years of efforts, TECNO has achieved initial success with its outstanding and unique marketing strategy, and has now become one of the most popular mobile phone brands in many countries in Africa.
As a global mobile phone brand, TECNO has offices in countries and regions like China, Hongkong, South Asia, UAE and most African countries while we majorly focus on Africa, like Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.
TECNO has been well accepted by Nigerian consumers and people are purchasing TECNO for its good quality, general features, professional services and innovative technologies.
Analysis shows that TECNO is now ranking number two in terms of market share in Nigeria and number one in dual SIM category in entire Africa.
The good thing is that in these countries where we have strong presence, we have established partnerships with the strong networks; which drives our spread.
One thing is that if you buy TECNO, there will be no complain.
Our phones are user friendly and affordable.
Our batteries last longer too. And when one visits our customer service centres, we do not hesitate to attend to them.
There are little things other companies over look, which we take very serious. Our customers are kings.
Assessment of the Nigerian Mobile Phone Market
Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa.
Currently, it has the largest market demand for mobile devices with a total estimated market size of 40 million handsets.
Thus, undoubtedly, Nigeria is considered by all major players, one of the most important markets globally.
Well, Nigeria is an energetic, passionate and youthful promising country. Its people have a very keen sense of fashion, internationalization as well as the world’s latest technology.
People are having the same standard towards fashion, technology and trend as those in USA and European countries.
Nigerian people are very brand-oriented and fashionable. Their high level of standard and pursuit leads the industry to a very promising future.
TECNO Loaded App Versus Others
TECNO has a good number of general applications embedded in most of its phones.
While we have specially, official co-operations with companies like Opera mini, Facebook etc. to make sure that we are providing genuine and original applications to consumers.
Besides those internationally popular applications, TECNO also dedicates to many localized applications like Draught which is developed by TECNO itself. Also, to provide consumers with best music experience, TECNO is cooperating with SPINLET that brings the latest music to our people.
And very soon, we are going to include Nigerian applications or contents. Nigerians have technology ideas, and from our side we want to get closer to local apps developers to get those contents.
TECNO Smart phones
TECNO always believes that we should supply what market needs rather than what we have.
As I stated earlier, Nigerian people are fashionable, trendy, passionate about new technologies, like Smart phones, surfing the internet and App demands.
By the demand and trend of the marketplace, we will launch our smart series shortly by aggressive functions and user experience.
Price of TECNO Smart Phones
With our R&D office in the centre of the world’s mobile phone industry, we can instantly introduce the latest technology and new ideas into African market.
TECNO aims to bring a more joyful and convenient life to all of us.
Having good cooperation with those big chipset suppliers and integrated industry advantages, TECNO has gained full supports from upstream and downstream partners that make TECNO phones more competitive in price and raw material quality.
With all the advantages and strengths, TECNO is to launch a series of smart phones with different screen sizes as 3.5″, 4.0″ and 5.0″; with Dual-Core and Qual-Core.
To reveal a secret, we are about to launch one new Smart Phone, TECNO N3; which will be a huge surprise to the Nigeria market.
Fast Selling Phones and CSR
‘Focus on Africa and Root in Africa’ being our motto, we have always behaved as a responsible brand in this continent.
We pay great attention to the future of the country, the youths.
We have sponsored some middle-school sports events, football teams in Lagos Polytechnics, CEEY comedy show in University of Lagos and some school graduation ceremonies.
Also, to stand against fake products and the show our determination in fighting the counterfeits, we have sponsored the quality control movement by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and jointly put the efforts to provide Nigerian people with genuine products.
Meanwhile, TECNO is participating in people’s lives in many ways; we sponsored the country’s pride, Nollywood Awarding Ceremony, which is liked by most Nigerian people.
To carry out the responsibility of a global company, TECNO also supported some community security plans that ensure people live and work in a harmonious environment. In the future, TECNO will continue its social responsibility and contribute more to the society and the country.
TECNO Preferred Mobile Phone in Nigeria
First of all, TECNO has always insisted on its motto: ‘Quality Always’ which has gained the public’s general recognition.
Secondly, TECNO has been recognized as the first brand that introduced Dual-SIM phones into Africa and this movement has greatly changed peoples’ lives by bringing more convenience in communications and saving more cost of calling and SMS among different operators.
Also, TECNO currently has its service centres in 9 major cities and collection points in all the major cities in Nigeria with more to come. We are providing consumers with convenience and professional care.
By the way, TECNO is the first brand that announced 12+1 months warranty in Nigeria and Africa which shows our full confidence in our product quality.
TECNO Partnership with MTN and Etisalat
The sole aim of the partnerships is to bring good products to the door-steps of the customers.
Nigerians also appreciate good phones. So, imagine that the most popular products go with the most trustable network service.
And as we work together we offer the end-user the best result; I must tell you that people will not hesitate to follow.
TECNO aims to provide sound quality hardware and user-oriented software with beneficial packages like mobile internet bundle, app pre-load and download from the biggest operators.
This kind of cooperation can bring people more benefits in user experience, budget planning and all other app experiences.
A few weeks ago, TECNO launched its Opera Mini phones T638 and T608 which are very much favoured by Nigerian customers.
To bring people more benefits, T638 is now promoted jointly by TECNO and MTN with surprisingly beneficial data bundles while T608 is on the go with ETISALAT.
Meanwhile, we at TECNO are open and ready to build long term relationship with operators, hence it will enhance the acceptability and penetration of the products, and the customers will appreciate it more.
Manufacturing Plant in Nigeria
Well, initially when we entered the Nigerian market, we had such plan; however, currently we are focusing on offering Nigerians quality products and services.
Perhaps, we should not forget in a hurry that most of the IT providers in Nigeria are from China, so, we rate Nigeria high.
And currently, we employed Nigeria engineers in discharging our projects, because Nigerians know Nigeria.
And it is our part of local empowerment. Now, we are intensifying a fight against low quality products.
How do I mean? To fight low quality products, you have to push high quality and affordable ones in to the market.
As part of its Children’s Day celebration, PalmPay, through its Young Stars initiative, has rewarded 60 outstanding students, inspiring young learners across public schools.
The initiative goes beyond rewarding high-performing students, it is also about building confidence, widening ambition, and reminding children that their future can be bigger than their present circumstances.
For Mohammed Jubril, one of the beneficiaries, the recognition has already changed how he thinks about what is possible.
Inspired by the support he has received, Mohammed shares a bold dream for the future: “I want to become a governor one day so I can help more children like me get access to education and opportunities.”
His words capture the deeper impact of the Young Stars programme. For many of the children recognised. The award is not just a reward for past performance. It is a signal that their efforts matter, their dreams are valid, and their future is worth investing in.
During the engagement sessions at the event, the pupils also excitedly shared their aspirations, speaking with enthusiasm about the careers they hope to pursue in the future. From doctors and teachers to engineers, pilots, and entrepreneurs, the children expressed big dreams and a strong sense of purpose, reflecting how early encouragement and recognition can help shape ambition and confidence.
For many students in public schools, access to educational support often determines not just academic outcomes, but how far they allow themselves to dream. Through the Young Stars Initiative, PalmPay is helping to change that narrative by affirming that excellence deserves recognition, and potential deserves investment.
For Mohammed’s family, the impact is both practical and deeply emotional. His father describes the recognition as a moment of renewed confidence for his son and a reminder that hard work can open doors to real opportunity.
As the initiative continues to reach more pupils across Lagos public schools, it leaves behind a powerful message; when children are supported, they don’t just perform better, they dream bigger.
Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria generated a total of N597.55 billion in revenue during the first quarter of 2026 despite persistent power supply challenges and consumer complaints over service delivery.
The figures are contained in the latest commercial performance factsheets released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
According to the data, the 11 electricity distribution companies collectively recorded N204.74 billion in revenue in January, N196.68 billion in February and N196.13 billion in March, bringing total collections for the three-month period to N597.55 billion.
The report showed that the companies maintained an average monthly revenue collection of about N199.18 billion during the period.
NERC’s data revealed varying levels of commercial performance among the distribution companies, with differences in billing efficiency, collection efficiency and revenue recovery rates.
In January, the DisCos billed customers N268.20 billion and recovered N204.74 billion, leaving N63.46 billion in unpaid bills.
The sector recorded a billing efficiency of 79.72 per cent and a collection efficiency of 76.34 per cent during the month.
In February, total billings stood at N242.29 billion, while collections amounted to N196.68 billion, resulting in an outstanding balance of N45.61 billion.
Billing efficiency improved to 87.44 per cent, while collection efficiency rose to 81.17 per cent.
For March, total billings reached N246.43 billion, with revenue collections of N196.13 billion, leaving a shortfall of N50.30 billion.
Billing and collection efficiencies for the month were recorded at 83.89 per cent and 79.59 per cent respectively.
The report also highlighted significant volumes of unbilled energy across the quarter, indicating ongoing operational and commercial challenges within the electricity distribution segment.
Among the top-performing firms were Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Ikeja Electric, which consistently posted stronger revenue recovery rates.
Eko DisCo notably achieved a recovery efficiency of over 100 per cent in February, according to the report.
However, some operators continued to face collection challenges.
Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company recorded one of the lowest recovery efficiencies during the review period, posting 41.20 per cent in February.
The NERC commercial performance report tracks key indicators including energy received, energy billed, total billings, revenue collections and recovery efficiency to assess the operational and financial health of electricity distribution companies.
The revenue performance comes against the backdrop of continued complaints from electricity consumers over high tariffs, estimated billing, inadequate metering and frequent power outages.
Nigeria also experienced significant power supply disruptions during the first quarter, largely attributed to gas supply constraints affecting electricity generation.
Industry data indicated that electricity generation at some points declined from about 4,000 megawatts to below 2,000 megawatts due to shortages in gas supply to thermal power plants.
Operational data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator showed that thermal plants require about 1.63 billion standard cubic feet of gas daily to operate optimally.
However, actual gas supply as of Feb. 23, 2026, stood at approximately 692 million standard cubic feet per day, representing less than 43 per cent of required demand.
The shortfall forced several generating plants to reduce output or shut down operations, prompting the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to implement load-shedding measures across the national grid.
Industry stakeholders have continued to advocate improved metering, stronger measures against energy theft and enhanced customer service to improve sector efficiency and revenue collection.
As part of Connecting Africa, CNN’s Victoria Rubadiri meets companies making deals to expand intra-regional trade. She also sits down with Sanya Alleyne the Adviser to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Business Council to get a sense of the current landscape of South-South trade.
At the Afri-Caribbean Investment Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, Rubadiri meets Aisha Maina, the brains behind the summit who believes providing the opportunity to meet face to face is the pathway to creating a tangible trade link. She explains why this is her belief, “When you go to the Caribbean and you go anywhere in the world, they talk about African drums, they have the African dances, but because they’re so far away from Africa, it’s what has been handed down. And I wanted them to see the real thing, what we have […] it has become a flourishing relationship, and that’s why I keep saying that the bridge is built. Because they have connected.”
From agriculture to financial services, businesses leaders have said that no sector should be overlooked if new partnerships are to be formed. Alleyne delves into how this looks for trade with the Caribbean, “The Caribbean has a longstanding history in being able to attract foreign direct investment. And the same goes for the continent of Africa. It is just about being able now to drill down into the weeds of it and being able to flesh out a framework that we can be able to facilitate, create a trade.”
For Alleyne, the next ten years are hoping to hold, “Regular commercial flights between the continent and the region. I think success would be being able to trade in our indigenous currencies to settle payments. And I also believe success would be the ability of our peoples to understand each other, become closer, and see ourselves as one.”
FG Seeks Inclusive, Human-centred Artificial Intelligence Policies
Glo to Improve Customers’ Digital Lifestyle with “More Data, More Value” Package
Chinese Bank Supports Nigeria Towers Project
London Strengthens Global Investment Ties with Africa @ First Ever London-Africa Business Summit
NASENI Trains 50 Women in Kano on Renewable Energy Technologies Under She-Powers Initiative
MTN, VDT, Zoracom, Digital Realty Back 2026 Girls in ICT Campaign
Vitel Wireless Partners Fintechs to Expand Access to Services
CPN Begins Crackdown on Quack IT Professionals, Vows Tougher Action against Cybercrime
FG to Launch Nationwide Free Digital TV Platform June 17
Nigeria Hit by 24.1m Data Breaches – Surfshark
Telecom3 days agoLegend Internet Reports Losses despite N505m Revenue
Telecom2 days agoAba to Host MTN’s “The Gathering” with Pitchathon Offering ₦5 Million Prize Pool for Emerging Startup Founders
E-Business3 days agoINEC Probes Claims of Leaked Voter Data from CVR System
General News2 days agoPalmPay Young Star Awardee Hopes to Become a Governor
E-Financial3 days agoEcobank Raises Record $450m in Nature Bond for Africa’s Biodiversity
E-Financial3 days agoNPS, New Payment Infrastructure Hits 153,000 Transactions in Pilot Phase
News3 days agoFG Expands Digital Learning Drive, Delivers ICT Equipment to Colleges Across Six Zones
E-Business3 days agoFirm Warns of Attackers Using Text Symbols to Form Malicious QR Codes