Lava forms JV to foray into Egypt

Handset maker Lava has formed a joint venture with Easy Group to foray into Egyptian market, a move that will enable the Indian entity tap into the African continent.

The joint venture, in which Lava will hold majority stake, will sell handsets made at the company's facilities in India.

"Egypt is an important market as it is a gateway into the African market. The Egyptian market is growing at a strong pace and there is a huge opportunity of growth," Lava Chairman and Managing Director Hari Om Rai said.

He added that the company gets about 50 per cent of its revenues from outside of India, which is expected to grow further as Lava expands into newer international markets.

Last year, the company's revenues stood at USD 1.2 billion.

Lava has a presence in countries like Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, Mexico, Sri Lanka and Pakistan as well as GCC countries.

The partnership will create 2,000 direct and 5,000 indirect employment opportunities in the next 6 months and over 10,000 employment opportunities in the next five years.

The joint venture will be headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

As part of the way forward plan, Lava will also explore opportunities to set manufacturing facilities and assembly units in Egypt which will also help the company in exporting products to the North African region.

The agreement was signed during the 4th India-Egypt Business Council meeting here organised by Ficci.

India and Egypt are looking at intensification of dialogue between the two countries and enhanced trade and investment.

India and Egypt have a trade volume of USD 3 billion -- which both sides are keen to upgrade to USD 8 billion.

There are currently 52 Indian companies operating in Egypt, of which 25 are joint ventures with a total investment of USD 3 billion across sectors.

As a USD 286 billion economy with around 89 million consumers -- the second largest in Africa.