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TOWNSHIP
Lebogang has designed an
affordable phone that looks good too
BY LESEGO SEOKWANG PICTURE: PAPI MORAKE
LEFT: Lebogang Mokubela But he hasn’t given up on his dream,
is the brains behind the and aims to produce the phones in
new Libra (BELOW), which Soshanguve some day.
is the first township-based Meanwhilethehandsetisbeingmade
smartphone brand.
inChinaandLebogang’scompanyistak-
iing orders through its website.
o
T’S ironic that he ended up work-
ing in retail.
Lebogang hated malls while
growing up because seeing other
childrenwalkingwiththeirfathers
reminded him that his dad wasn’t
h
in his life.
I was raised by my grandparents.
“I
Wh en I was three months old, my par-
s separated. My mom met another
HINK cellphones and your they’d almost sold ents
mind automatically jumps out. man and wanted me to live with them
man
to megabrands such as but my grandfather said no; he’d rather
Huawei, Samsung and NCEhe’ddecidedtoenterthe raise me himself.”
Apple. smartphone business, Lebo- He didn’t have a relationship with his
But entrepreneur Lebo- gang’s next step was to de- father, and his mother, Chiny, who has
gang Mokubela wants to cide on his target market. since died, seldom visited him.
Tshow South Africans that “Around the third quarter His grandparents Agnes (65) and Jack
local is lekker in this marketplace too. O of2018therewere13million (67)tookoverasparentfigures,lateralso
With its big screen, glossy body and smartphones sold in South Africa and takinginhisyoungerbrothers,Kamoge-
minimalist design, the new Libra smart- 67% of thosewereentry-levelphones,”he lo (now 20) and Khumo (now 16) after
phone can proudly hold its own along- says. Chiny’s death in 2013.
side handsets made by rivals – but what That’s why he decided to target the Today Lebogang is a devoted family
sets it apart is that it was conceived and entry-level marketwherephonessellfor man. He and his wife, Naledi (23), mar-
designed in Soshanguve near Pretoria. less than R6 000. riedlastyearandhaveanine-month-old
Sure, there are other proudly South Although Lebogang has no formal daughter, Larona.
African phones, such as the Mara hand- background in electronics, he didn’t let Lemok Group, a township-based
sets made in Durban, but the recently this deter him. By 2017 he’d decided to groupoffirms,wonbestcompanyinthe
launched Libra is being branded as the throw his energy into working on Libra, services category at the 2018 Gauteng
first township-based smartphone brand. and one of hismostdauntingchallenges Township Entrepreneurship Awards,
It boasts 128GB of storage, a six-inch was what to do about manufacturing. andin2016Lebogangwasnamedyoung
screen, a 10 megapixel rear camera, 4MB “I couldn’tdoitlocally.Notmanycom- entrepreneuroftheyearattheStandard
of Ram and dual Sim biometric finger- ponents are made in South Africa,” he Bank Tshwane Business Awards.
print authentication, putting the R2 999 says. Functionality isn’t the be-all and end-
Android phone way ahead of many other Although itwasacorepartofhisvision all of Lebogang’s vision. He’s incredibly
entry-level smartphones. to manufacture the handsets locally, he proud of his handset’s stylish looks.
And it seems Lebogang (29) was spot- realised thiswasn’tpossible.He’dhaveto “One of the things I hated when I
on with his analysis of the market. When pump at least R2 million into research lookedattheentry-levelphonecategory
the company he started in 2015, the and development – money he simply was that they have this standard gold
Lemok Group, officially launched the didn’t have. cover.Itdoesn’tgiveyouasenseofpride.
phone online at midnight on 18 Decem- So insteadhepartneredwithaChinese “What was important to me was the
ber last year it had its first sale within manufacturer with whom he shares the aesthetics. The Libra needed to look SUPPLIED
minutes – and by 11pm the next day design. amazing.” S
24 | 6 FEBRUARY 2020 you.co.za
