Diaa El-Shaarawy, Chief Operation Officer of the Al Safy Group, revealed the details of founding the first factory of Xiaomi Global for smartphones and TV screens, with its exclusive agent and distributor in Egypt. Al Safy Group aims to help the local economy by ensuring product availability and reducing imports, conforming to the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Egyptian government’s plan to support the balance of trade.
Xiaomi factory – with its exclusive agent and distributor in Egypt Al Safy Group – will produce 1 million mobile phones and about 300,000 smart TV screens to meet the needs of the Egyptian market. The factory is being established in the industrial zone on 6th October City on an area of 7,500 square meters. It is expected to be up and running by Q4 2023 as an affirmation of the Egyptian government’s support for FDI and its success in attracting and funding projects that support the local currency, Al-Shaarawy added.
What are Al Safy Group’s investment goals and directions in the current period?
Al Safy Group is a family-owned conglomerate with a national vision – mainly – aiming to support and implement the Egyptian government’s various directives and policies and attract foreign partners to find new projects in Egypt, especially those that contribute to replacing imports or add to exports.
Xiaomi has been one of the most important partners of the Al Safy Group since 2014. So, it preferred to continue joint work to establish its first Middle East factory in Egypt, with a vision to enhance the technology market locally and regionally through increasing product availability and accessibility to customers.
Why Xiaomi, and what does it represent to the Egyptian consumer?
Xiaomi is one of the best-selling companies in global markets. Global sales reports by Canalys – the leading global technology market analysis organization – showed that Xiaomi is the second largest mobile phone maker in sales worldwide. Xiaomi has become the best-selling company in Egypt by selling 1 Million mobile phones in 2022, thanks to its local Exclusive distributor in Egypt (Al Safy Group).
What is the investment cost of the Xiaomi factory?
Xiaomi’s factory in Egypt is located on an area of 7,500 square meters in the industrial zone in 6th October City. The cost of the factory amounts to approximately EGP 600 Million. Reducing the import bill is one of the most essential returns of this investment for the Egyptian economy. The new factory will also provide 300 to 500 direct job opportunities to Egyptians and empower the youth aiming for a better future.
The new factory contributes to finding a competitive advantage for Xiaomi products with the highest quality and best price in the local market while meeting all local needs and exporting such products to various foreign markets.
What is the factory’s production capacity?
Of course, the Egyptian market owns about 45% of the domestic product. Our factory aims to produce 1 Million smartphones and 300,000 smart TV screens annually. Production costs are also low in the Egyptian market, as well as the absorption of all the factory’s production due to the significant demand of the Egyptian market as the best market among all ME markets in terms of high rates of continuously growing demand.
Does demand remain high in Egypt, given the recent hikes in prices?
The growing population indicates that demand will continue to rise but needs to be met with the current price hikes; therefore, this factory will contribute to meeting the demand in the market. Let alone that the local production makes the prices more affordable to Egyptians despite their SEC.
Finally, how is Al Safy Group doing in the Egyptian market?
Founded in 1985, Al Safy Group is a family-owned conglomerate with a diversified investment portfolio headquartered in Egypt. The group has been a pivotal contributor to the Egyptian economy across multiple sectors.
Setting its footprint with operations in a wide range of industries in multiple territories, the group pursues new opportunities, partnerships, and relations to influence the market in the differentiated industries in which its businesses operate, contributing to the Egyptian economy across multiple sectors such as Technology, F& B industries, Retail, Real Estate, Hospitality, and Automotive.
From a generation of founders alongside a second-generation filled with new thinking and innovation, combining its ideas to evolve with the business model, Al Safy Group relies on continuity and adaptability to the latest market trends as the crucial differentiator. The narrative behind the group is a testament to the importance of a family unit of principles, longstanding relationships, and evolution within its business model.
