Nigeria is a very different smartphone market compared not only to Western countries, but to many African countries such as South Africa as well. Samsung is the only major global player that has a significantly large market share in Nigeria, even though it’s not the no.1, and until recently, not quite even in the top-3 brands. What about Huawei or Apple? Not even close.

So, which brands do dominate the fragmented Nigerian smartphone market? It’s mostly the Chinese brands Tecno, Infinix, and Itel, all subsidiaries of the Chinese conglomerate Transsion Holdings, although Samsung improved its ranks in the second quarter of 2018. As for the best-selling smartphone models, it’s a healthy mix of Tecno, Infinix, and Itel, with the Tecno brand having the upper hand. Samsung also has some popular J Series models near the top of the list.

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