The company says it visualises, plans, designs, manufactures and distributes mobile (smart hand-held) phone devices, and accessories.
In a statement, Soraya’s Founder and CEO, Mr Friday Yange said that the Africa had benefited from technological innovation from other regions of the world over the years without corresponding contribution.
He believed that the continent has a lot of talents and can contribute immensely to global technology advancements. “The starting point of this advancement”, he said, “is the building of strong brands by African entrepreneurs”.
According to him, “the role of brand has changed over the years, from the traditional focus on consumer satisfaction and corporate performance to meeting stakeholder’s expectations, to a point where they become a measuring rod for the health of a nation’s economic growth and development. With the encroachment of globalisation in all aspects of our lives, the business and economic world have become more competitive for resources more than ever before. One of the critical elements of this competition is the creation of strong brands.
“All over the world, especially in Europe, America and Asia, businesses and venture capitalists are increasing their stake holding and investment portfolios in brand creation and brand building. Brands are integral to the contemporary business logic for an effective, vibrant, and responsive economy, and their economic importance cannot be taken for granted or overlooked. The culture of seeing brands as national assets for international competitiveness is yet to catch up in Africa, and in Nigeria, particularly, which is the rationale behind Soraya brand”.
Speaking further, Yange said that “Soraya is an aspirational brand, focused on building the bridge of economic prosperity beyond smartphone and creating services with far-reaching economic and social impact for Sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East region. Building a strong brand and quality product that can compete globally requires huge financial, human, and material resources. To overcome these challenges, the company is already in talks with an Investments Group in Asia in it fund-raise efforts and look forward to also working with local partners as well”.
Elaborating on the key Soraya features, propositions, and brand offerings, Yange said that, “Soraya is not just a phone; it is a total business suite that would revolutionise the use of smartphone and truly make the phone smart. It is a solution developed to help millions or billions of people, businesses – big and small – and the ordinary people to succeed. Beyond the Soraya phone facilities for connectivity and communication, it provides other services targeted at supporting people in Sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East in their day-to-day engagements, travels, communication, financial activities, and social interactions.
“Soraya products currently being developed will solve critical problems such as unemployment, global product support problems, financial inequality by way of unlocking unlimited opportunities for low-income people in rural communities; and there are plans to establish a Feeder Manufacturing Factory, and assembly lines”.
He believed that this would bring about “holistic industry growth, develop local talents, and build capacity for the region”.
Recent data revealed that 615 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will subscribe to mobile services by 2025, equivalent to 50% of the region’s population 28% of total connections will be on 4G by 2025 and 3% will be on 5G and $155 billion of economic value added will be generated by mobile technologies and services by 2025. Sadly, this mobile sector is largely dominated by the foreign brands with little or no participation by the African and Middle East brands, Soraya brand hope to play actively in these markets.
Brands contribute to the nation’s economic growth and adaptation to global competition through the creation of products and services, and production and reproduction of social goods that benefit the society, as they participate in increasing a nation’s GDP, and supporting a peoples’ overall livelihood and wellbeing. Brands with strong recognition and global reach are an enormous asset to their home countries.
