Seemahale Telecoms (SemTel), which currently manufactures telecommunication tools in South Africa, is poised to introduce affordable smartphones to the African market, it emerged on Tuesday.

The 100 percent black-owned and managed South African firm recently signed a deal with CZ Electronics Manufacturing to assemble and market Android powered smartphones and tablets in South Africa.

Thabo Lehlokoe, the chairman of Seemahale Telecoms, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that these new phones will compete in the market with phones like Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and selling at about R2,500 ($260) a unit.

“It just didn’t seem right that there are hundreds of millions of phones in Africa, none of which are actually manufactured here,” Reuters quoted Lehlokoe as saying.

He said the new smart phones will target entry level clients who have been deprived access to such gadgets due to the price they command.

“We also hope that the (local) operators will support this initiative by making these devices available in their stores and their distribution chain,” he said in a statement.

Sagran Pillay, the CEO of CZ Electronics Manufacturing, said inexpensive mobile phones and tablet PCs will improve human advancement in all aspects of the public within Africa and South Africa.