By Elizabeth Osayande

At a time when getting a phone is a luxury due to harsh economic realities, especially with the fluctuation of the dollar, Migo phones and laptops recently launched in Lagos, Nigeria according to the chief executive officer, George Evans will not only make smartphones available to every Nigerian, these products will be avenues for creation of job opportunities, and the increase of the nation’s internally generated revenue, IGR among other benefits.

Evans shares more details during the launch of Migo products at its newly designed outlet at Allen Avenue, Ikeja.

Excerpts
Tell us about Migo Mobile, what prompted you to venture into this market?

My name is George Evans. I’m the MD, CEO of Migo Mobile Nigeria Limited.

For me, I think I would always make it personal. I’ll take it a step back. I’m from a very poor community called Ifo in Ogun State.
I am one of those people that I feel have had the opportunity to be able to have the good fortune of getting an education outside of Nigeria. I’ve worked for one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, and I’ve led multiple teams across the world. So, being in telecommunications for about twenty years, I felt that I couldn’t have achieved what I achieved without people supporting me and having the right kind of people who trusted me and gave me those opportunities I’ve got. So, for me, it became not making more money, but how do you do something back home? So something back home for me became MIGO Mobile.

How do we get cheap or quality smartphones to the people back at home? And my ultimate goal, I will still keep saying this, I believe if I sell enough phones, I’ll be able to make enough profit to be able to take smartphones back to my old community because I’ll give you some numbers. In Ifo, where I come from, I think we have one of the largest numbers of teenage pregnancies, probably in all the states. We have a large number of people who have no access to the Internet or even a smartphone.

So if my commitment is how do I make sure every child, every young person would have access to ICT and also through the Internet. So if I can make enough profit from some of the things we sell to be able to return these phones to every person’s hand, that would be a job well done for me. It may not happen in a day. It may not happen in a week, but I hope that during my lifetime, I’ll be able to bridge that digital gap and get people to the Internet.

The market is very wide and competitive. So how do you tend to compete with other brands operating and they are global?

I would not use the word compete. I think Nigerian society is very diverse. Different people from different walks of life. Different people on different economic bands. Different people have different needs and expectations. It’s very wide.

I feel we have a lot of brands in Nigeria, but there is enough space for every brand to be able to work with their target audience. So that is why I don’t think it is a competition in my personal opinion. I feel that MIGO Mobile, we are targeted towards the young. In fact, everybody – the young, the old; because we feel there is a gap in the country right now. An average person like me on the street can not afford to take some of the smartphones off my hands anymore because of the economic challenges that people are facing.

So, our focus is to bring quality smartphones at an affordable price, and I will use some expressions that I want you to walk away with. I call us every day affordable luxury for everybody. One of the things we want to try to do in Migo Mobile is to call ourselves a value king. We want to drive value – value made, quality phone at affordable price. So that’s what’s gonna set us apart. That’s what is going to create that niche that we’re looking for. Like I said, I don’t think we’re competing. I don’t think we want to take any market space from anybody. I think there’s enough for everybody out there, but we want to make sure that we will be the brand that meets the needs of the common man. And, also, if you are a rich person and you want something refreshing, we’ll serve you also.

What are the roles of this new office when it comes to the company’s operation?

Right here in this location is the first, and I am sure it is not going to be the last. This is a retail space and also our service centre to bring us closer to the people. We are starting in Lagos. We want to be able to move to the North, Abuja, and Kano and also look at something in the East and other areas. My vision is to get Migo into every hand if we can. We are not just doing it alone. Credit Direct is our partner to be able to do “buy now, pay later.”

How is the partnership between you and Credit Direct?

Credit Direct is our partner to be able to buy and pay later. For example, we want to have an opportunity where people can walk into a brick-and-mortar store like this. Regardless of what your financial situation is, we shouldn’t turn you out. We want to be able to see how much you can afford. Our phones are, anyway, very affordable for everybody to start. But what can we help you with?

Can we help you with a structured payment plan via Credit Direct where you can access those devices today and then be able to pay over some time? That’s why that partnership is very important. It is going to be on our current premises on all our future premises, and also additional premises. It doesn’t stop there. We also provide e-commerce.

We have an e-commerce store where people can pay in the comfort of their homes where they could access our devices, not just phones but also laptops.

Let’s see how we’ll be able to not just produce locally. Imagine if we produce locally. Three things happen immediately. One is employment. People will get jobs. We are going to be able to create valuable opportunities for people living in universities to be able to get a job. Local communities, there are going to be allies, other companies that are going to work with us, suppliers, and vendors that will be able to support us. So even if we employ, like, 800 people in the production facility, there are probably going to be 20,000 additional, indirect people that are connected to us.

Then let’s talk about IGR, which is the last one. We are gonna create the IGR for the local community in terms of taxes and VAT that we are gonna be paying. So it’s a win-win for everybody.

Specs of products?

Our laptop, we did not want to do what everyone has done. MigoDuo is that laptop that has a normal screen like every other laptop. On our keyboard, we put a seven-inch touchscreen right on the keyboard. It’ll allow you to be able to multitask. Say you’re a student, you could be studying, and then you want to take notes. By having a notepad with a stylus pen, you could write at the same time. It could be on a webinar or maybe an online class; you could still attend beyond visuals and still be able to write on the same laptop. It doesn’t stop there.

Again, our prices are only 30 or 40% less than every competition. The phones are very interesting, stylishly done, sleek design and quality. Like I said, they come at affordable prices, that’s something that is gonna look very different.
Then, when you look at our camera, it is a strong camera that you can use with long-lasting battery life. And then finally, I always tell people that when you have a phone that you love, a phone that sort of stays with you throughout the day and doesn’t break the bank. So, we want to be the first device you interact with when you wake up in the morning. We want to be the last device you interact with before you go to bed at night.

What are the warranty and repair services that are available for the new devices, both the laptop and the phone?

The warranty is twelve months to start with. And we have it on all our products, our phones and laptops. Not only do we offer that warranty, but we also have a legal care package that is optional and allows you to be able to do some things, such as getting a screen guard, like a protector.

In terms of repair, this facility we are sitting in is the first one has a repair centre. Currently, we have signed an agreement with about 20 repair centres in Lagos. We have some interesting conversations ongoing with some partners and local communities.