VETA moves from repairs to phone making

DODOMA: FOR years, Tanzania has been a huge market for mobile phones, with millions of devices entering the country from abroad to meet the growing appetite for smartphones and other digital gadgets.

From basic handsets to sophisticated smartphones, the shelves of shops across the country are largely filled with products manufactured outside Tanzania, making the country predominantly a consumer rather than a producer of mobile technology. But that story could be about to change.

The Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) is stepping into the mobile phone industry, developing a locally assembled and manufactured handset under its own brand, ‘Ujuzi Pro’.

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The initiative signals a new direction for vocational training in Tanzania, where institutions are increasingly being challenged to go beyond producing graduates who can seek employment and instead equip them to design, assemble and manufacture products for the local and international markets.

VETA Director General Anthony Kasore said the Ujuzi Pro project had reached an advanced stage, with the authority now working to complete regulatory requirements before the phone enters the market.

“We are at a good stage. We have reached the point of obtaining the necessary permits and are now proceeding with the next steps,” Mr Kasore said in Dodoma yesterday.

He said VETA was currently working to obtain an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number for the devices, a key requirement before mobile phones can operate on telecommunications networks. The authority is also engaging the Tanzania Communications