137: Chapter 137 New "Business" Comes Knocking

"If Xiaomi keeps delaying its launch until May, the market will have already been eaten up by others. Fast charging is the future; it's very important."

Mr. Wang thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Mr. Lei Jun, I understand your pressure. But production capacity... really can't be squeezed out. As for the fast-charging chips, that depends on the design department; I can't make any decisions on that."

"Mr. Wang, fast charging is really important. Can Qualcomm develop its own fast-charging protocol based on Micro USB? Can you allocate a portion of the MSM8255?" Lei Jun interrupted him. "Let's start with 100,000 units so we can begin shipping slowly. We can make up the rest later."

Mr. Wang looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"Mr. Lei Jun, your negotiation style is the same as last time."

Lei Jun didn't laugh. "Mr. Wang, are you going to help or not?"

Lei Jun's tone became serious.

Mr. Wang was also silent for a few seconds. Although Lei Jun had offended MediaTek during the press conference, the CPU from Texas Instruments was quite good, and as for the communication baseband, that could always be resolved...

"I'll ask for you. As for the issue with the fast-charging chips, I'll bring it up to them and have them look into the R&D."

Two days later, Mr. Wang replied.

"Mr. Lei Jun, I can allocate 80,000 units for delivery on March 20th. This is the best I can do."

Lei Jun did some calculations. If he received the chips on March 20th and spent two weeks on assembly and testing, he could start shipping by early April.

This was a month earlier than originally planned, which should allow him to get the 'sparks' out before Transsion's release.

"Thanks, Mr. Wang."

Mr. Wang chuckled on the other end of the line. "Mr. Lei Jun, don't just suddenly show up next time."

Lei Jun laughed too. "We'll see next time."

March 15, 2010, Lagos.

Mr. Adebayo had just finished the press conference for the T80s. This phone was also a revised version of the T80, and none of the molds had been changed.

It was just that all the parts had been replaced with those disassembled by the dismantling center (non-reinforced versions), the battery had increased from 1000mAh to 1300mAh, and the lens had been upgraded from 100,000 pixels to 500,000 pixels.

The price had also increased further, from 35 dollars to 50 dollars.

However, this phone remained the cheapest brand-new Feature phone, with no exceptions, other than their own T80.

Just as he was preparing to rest, he received news that AfriLink's registered users had exceeded 80 million and Afro Chat's registered users had exceeded 60 million.

Seeing these numbers, he immediately sprang into action; the company's next plan could begin...

These numbers were truly astonishing.

When AfriLink launched last year, it only had a few hundred users. At that time, they didn't even have a formal office location and had to work out of a dilapidated warehouse.

In just over a year, registered users had exceeded 80 million. On average, one in every 15 Africans was using AfriLink; this had almost reached the total number of internet users in Africa.

Especially since this achievement was reached under the fierce competition of three companies like konnect and Afro Chat, it was a miracle. However, such achievements were enough to make people arrogant, especially those who didn't know how to be grateful...

That evening, at the Lagos Hotel, Mr. Adebayo held a celebration banquet. The hotel's largest banquet hall had been booked, with 50 tables set up.

It wasn't just people from Transsion and AfriLink who came; any internet company that Huaxin Investment had invested in had come here to exchange experiences and take the opportunity to discuss cooperation.

In addition to these entrepreneurs, the chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission had come, the governor of Lagos State had come, and there were representatives from all departments related to the internet.

Mr. Adebayo stood at the entrance to welcome guests, wearing a custom African floral shirt, grinning from ear to ear.

"Mr. Adebayo," the governor said, shaking his hand and patting his shoulder, "you are the pride of Nigeria."

Mr. Adebayo smiled modestly, but he had heard these words too many times. For the sake of Transsion's development, he still cooperated very well and said:

"Mr. Governor, this is the credit of the entire team. And today, we are holding a celebration banquet for AfriLink to congratulate them on exceeding 80 million registered users."

The governor nodded repeatedly. "AfriLink is equally impressive, and I will praise them later, but if not for Mr. Adebayo's help and Transsion's vigorous promotion, they wouldn't have been able to achieve this."

The governor's voice was very excited and enthusiastic when he said this.

Oromide, a vice president of AfriLink, stood next to Mr. Adebayo, his fingertips clenching unconsciously, his knuckles turning slightly white.

He still had to maintain a polite smile on his face, his mouth stiffly pulled, but his eyes were slowly turning cold. Every word of praise for the "investors and Transsion Technology" was like a thin needle, gently pricking his heart.

A wave of sour and angry feelings surged up, but he could only force them back down. His hands hanging by his sides were trembling slightly—not out of fear, but out of extreme, aggrieved resentment.

They were clearly the ones who should have been seen the most, yet at this moment, they didn't even count as supporting characters; they were just background props standing in the shadows. That feeling of being completely ignored despite having made contributions was stuck in his throat, unable to be spit out or swallowed, and he only felt a fire rising from the bottom of his heart...

This also strengthened his resolve to sell out to Naspers; indeed, those not of my race must have a different heart.

While Mr. Adebayo was talking to the governor, the surrounding reporters were frantically clicking their shutters, recording this happy moment together.

After the banquet began, Mr. Adebayo went on stage to give a speech. He stood in front of the microphone and looked at the sea of people below. There were officials in suits and leather shoes, employees wearing Transsion T-shirts, and reporters holding cameras.

"Friends, today is a happy day." He spoke in the Baruba language, and the whole venue fell silent.

"Today, our Nigeria's most representative internet company, AfriLink, has officially exceeded 80 million registered users, and it is only one step away from the 100 million mark. I believe this day will come soon..."

After saying a bunch of complimentary words, Mr. Adebayo didn't forget his main business.

"This is what Transsion is doing in Africa; we support companies, but we do not interfere too much. We have only one goal: to let every African use a Smartphone and connect to the world."

"In addition, taking this opportunity, I would like to specifically announce that Transsion's second factory in Africa will officially be established in Nigeria. This will be Transsion's largest factory in Africa, with an expected production capacity of 20 million units. Soon, just like in Mauritius, we will be using mobile phones produced by our own citizens."

The venue erupted in applause.

Following that was the speech by AfriLink's vice president, Oromide. Although the reporters took many photos, they didn't hear any key points, only knowing that their ambitions were very large and that their next step would be to enter more countries, such as the European market...

After the banquet ended, Mr. Adebayo returned to his room. His phone rang; it was an unfamiliar number.

"Mr. Adebayo, I am the CEO of MTN Africa. We have a business matter we would like to discuss with you."