The future of technology in Africa belongs to brands that design with local needs in mind.
By proving that new technology can solve local, everyday challenges, digifon a lifestyle tech brand is showing that Africa can move from simply buying foreign tech to making its own tech gadgets.
As digifon rolls out its products across electronic hubs, online platforms and major retail channels, including Gloworld and SLOT stores nationwide, the bigger business plan is clear – the lifestyle tech brand is changing the West African electronics market.
The brand recently launched its new Oyster and StoneBud Open Wearable Stereo (OWS) earbuds series in Lagos. This shows a big change in how technology is designed for African buyers.
For years, big international tech companies have sold devices in Africa that were made for Western or Asian buyers.
These products often ignore local problems, like bad power supply, heavy traffic, and everyday lifestyle needs. But digifon is changing this story by proving that local tech brands can win over customers simply by building products that solve everyday African problems.
The digifon solution to modern audio…
At the center of digifon’s new launch is Open Wearable Stereo (OWS) technology. Normal earbuds plug deep into the ear, which can be uncomfortable and completely blocks out street noise.
Instead, digifon’s open-ear design sits comfortably just outside the ear. It uses special technology to play music straight into the ear while letting the user hear everything going on around them.
In a bustling city like Lagos, this design is needed for safety, not just a cool feature. Whether you are a business person walking to a meeting, someone who loves working out on the road, or a worker moving through traffic, staying aware of your surroundings is very important.
This practical blend of safety and style drew a high-profile corporate and creative crowd to digifon’s product showcase in Victoria Island. Attendees included prominent business coach Lanre Olusola; Nollywood actor and producer Efe Henry; product experience specialist Alex Unusual; psychologist Laurretta Ogbum; and luxury retail pioneer Olufemi Olusola Olaseinde, alongside several other corporate leaders.
Building tech for the African reality…
To compete with big global tech companies, digifon is focusing deeply on making really useful products. In growing markets, buyers care a lot about battery life and the daily cost of internet data needed to keep their devices working.
”African tech users have had to get used to foreign technology that was never built with our local needs in mind,” says Dapo Rowland Okotore, CEO of WTG IT Solutions Limited, the parent company of digifon.
Explaining the idea behind the new products, he added: “Our ‘Unplugged & Unstoppable’ plan is made to fix these exact problems, especially worrying about battery life. With our Oyster and StoneBud OWS series, we are setting a new standard for local tech building. We are building a real tech system that fits the African environment perfectly.”
With rising inflation squeezing household budgets, digifon is using a smart pricing strategy to make premium tech accessible. The brand is launching its new devices, the Oyster Premium OWS (built for executive comfort) and the StoneBud OWS (designed for high durability) with special introductory discounts and complimentary data bundles.
By adding data packages directly to the purchase, digifon makes the device cheaper to own and gives buyers a complete digital package.
Talking about how they made the devices, Kemi Adedeji, General Manager of WTG IT Solutions Limited, noted: “Our goal is to deliver reliable smart devices that actually help people get more done every day.
“With this Open Wearable Stereo series, we have successfully combined personal safety with great sound. Even better, we adjusted the sound of these earbuds specifically to match local music tastes, delivering the rich, deep bass that Afrobeats lovers expect,”
Adedeji said.