KIRA, Uganda—Chinese electronics company ENGO Holdings has launched a computer and mobile phone assembly plant here.

The new factory, located in the Namanve Industrial Park, is the result of a memorandum of understanding signed between ENGO Holdings, the National Information Technology Authority of Uganda (NITA-U) and the Uganda Investment Authority . The inauguration ceremony was headed by the country’s president Yoweri Museveni.

“We have now moved to develop standards to guide the manufacture of electronics and in-circuit test (ICT) equipment, including computers and related products,” says James Saaka, executive director of the NITA-U. “It is a great progress that we are moving Uganda into this ICT equipment manufacturing space, but we must move in tandem with the rest of the world in terms of standards and quality in order to be competitive."

According to Ares Chow Yu Qing, the executive director of ENGO Holdings, the plant would start its operations with 100,000 electronic assemblies per month, with a goal of 1 million manufactured per year. The devices will be marketed under the brand name Simi Mobile.