Transsion taps India as export hub for Africa, eyes rural 5G market with Tecno brand push

Arijeet Talapatra CEO Transsion India

Transsion Group, the Chinese smartphone maker behind Tecno, Infinix, and iTel, has begun large-scale exports from India to African countries through its local manufacturing partner, Dixon Technologies, making it one of the first Chinese handset firms to do so.

In an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol, India CEO Arijeet Talapatra also revealed that the company has set up a dedicated R&D centre in Noida to strengthen its India operations, with a particular focus on scaling the Tecno brand while maintaining profitability.

“We have a joint venture with Dixon. Previously, the motto was made in India for India, but that has changed to make for the world. Africa is the biggest market for us globally. Dixon works with many players, and it makes sense to work closely with them,” he said.

Transsion and Dixon aim to export two million smartphones under the Tecno and Infinix brands in the current fiscal year.

The company is also working to build a components ecosystem to further local manufacturing, which it believes will eventually support expansion into markets beyond Africa.

Talapatra said Transsion and Dixon will bring partners to establish a robust electronics component ecosystem in India. “We have a robust upstream capability, and Dixon is also very strong locally. The Indian government is now supporting local manufacturing through the ECMS 2.0 scheme. It will be a great partnership.”

Ismartu India, a subsidiary of Transsion Technology Limited, is part of a joint venture with Dixon, where the company holds a majority stake.

With urban smartphone demand flattening, Transsion is betting on the Tecno brand to drive 5G growth in the Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000 segment, targeting India’s expanding non-urban and rural markets.

“We are aiming for 200% growth in sales numbers in this price segment where major 5G smartphone adoption is happening,” the executive said. “We will have a very aggressive 5G portfolio with the help of our strong supply chain.”

Tecno is launching Curve 5G with smart features in Indian regional languages, including AI voice input, smart replies, and real-time recommendations. "Our in-house AI, Ella, now supports 5 Indian languages — Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, and Gujarati. It also comes with Intelligent Signal Hub System, which boosts average signal strength by up to 50% — especially helpful in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns where connectivity can be patchy," he said.

Tecno will remain a brand that spans all price categories, with plans to launch premium phones in the Rs 80,000 range as well.

The executive emphasised that the brand’s focus is not just on volume growth, but also on maintaining a healthy bottom line.

“India is a price-sensitive market, but brands must focus on the bottom line. Driving just volumes would not help. In several price segments, many brands have been losing money. We don’t want to lose money. We are a global company, and demand for 5G smartphones across 40 out of our 110 markets globally is picking up, leading to a strong supply chain, which will help bring efficiencies and help offer phones at affordable rates,” he explained.

The group has set up an R&D centre within its Noida office to support local innovation to develop AI features and design phones tailored for Indian consumers.

“We will have 50–60 people in this centre. We want to do many things around AI and designing phones at this centre. The local unit will work with the headquarters team. The local team will work for the whole Indian subcontinent market, including Bangladesh and Nepal,” he added.