LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – The Mozambican government has entered into an agreement with Sahara Computers, a South African manufacturing company, to set up a computer assembly plant in Mozambique for US$1 million.
The agreement was signed through the Mozambican Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, responsible for ICT development in the country. Work on the plant is expected to be completed by September.
The development of computers is the first step toward the computerization of Mozambique, said the institute’s Jamo Macanze. Once operational, the factory will be able to assemble 100 computers per day, he said. It will also be the first such plant in the Southern Africa Development Community region.
Macanze noted that the production of the computers will depend on the business model and the response from the market.
“The cost of imported components will be the factor that will determine the quantity and the price of the PCs produced per day,” he said.
Negotiations with the Investment Promotion Center have already commenced by the Mozambican government to waive duty on the importation of computer components to make the assembled computers cheaper.
Although the plant is a joint initiative between Sahara Computers and the Mozambican Institute of Communication and Technology, the computers that will be assembled in the country will have a different brand name.