Kenya-based Pay-As-You-Go renewable energy cum asset financing company M-Kopa might be the first recipient of a new smartphone from HMD Global, the Finnish company that has been responsible for Nokia smartphones over the last 6 years.
According to leaks, the M-Kopa X1, a variation of a device known by its model number TA-1585, offers us a look at the immediate future of HMD’s self-branding efforts.
That future could include the rebranding of already-existing devices from HMD Global offered under the Nokia brand as can be seen in the case of the TA-1585 which Nokia watcher Nokiamob speculates might be the Nokia C32, a smartphone announced at the start of the year.
The device bears the M-Kopa logo on its back (as can be seen in the featured image above).
M-Kopa already offers the C32’s predecessor, the Nokia C31, to customers in Kenya and Uganda. It also offers other Nokia smartphones in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria, the African countries where it operates its device financing program.
“You can expect to see a new portfolio of HMD branded mobile devices, as well as Nokia devices and collaboration with exciting new partners,” Jean-Francois Baril, the Chairman and CEO of HMD Global, wrote on his LinkedIn 2 months ago, sparking a news storm of articles asserting that the company would disengage from producing Nokia-branded devices and focus on its own.
“It has been a great journey as ‘HMD – the home of Nokia phones’ – an exclusive position we have held for the past six years. Now, we’re the fastest-growing 5G smartphone manufacturer year on year, a leader in sustainability with our repairable devices, and the top choice for taking a digital detox. Now we are ready for the next step on our journey – to enter the market independently as a force to create a new world for telecommunications focused on consumer needs,” he wrote.
