Smartphone manufacturer Mara Phones has appointed Sylvester Taku as MD of its South African operations with immediate effect, the company announced yesterday.
Mara Phones is a subsidiary of the Dubai-headquartered Mara Corporation, which manufactures “proudly African” smartphones.
It made its South African debut in October 2019, opening a hi-tech smartphone manufacturing facility at the Dube Trade Port Special Economic Zone in KwaZulu-Natal.
Since then, Mara Phones has signed distribution deals with local outlets and banks, andopened SA’s first Mara Experience Store at Maponya Mall in Soweto.
In a statement, the company says Taku has been the head of growth at Mara Phones since 2019, and led the opening of the experience store.
Mara Phones CEO Ashish J Thakkar says: “Sylvester is bold and dependable with an amazing ability to spot the next opportunity. He will continue to do exceptionally well at Mara Phones as we grow together and make a huge positive social impact, bring fantastic shareholder returns and create real value for customers.”
A chartered accountant by profession, Taku holds an MBA from the UCT Graduate School of Business.
Mara Phones says Taku’s strong strategic and consulting background saw him complete successful tenures at Coopers and Lybrant, PwC, Deloitte and Ernst & Young (EY), where he, among other achievements, boosted the profitability of the EY MTN account eight-fold.
Commenting on his appointment, Taku states: “It is a privilege to lead the South African operations of the continent’s flagship smartphone brand, Mara Phones. Every South African can be proud that world-class smartphones rollout of our South African factory every day, and my focus going forward will be on growth in new markets and forging new partnerships while solidifying the brand where we’re currently achieving.”