Technology distributor TD Africa has signed a strategic distribution partnership with indigenous manufacturer Zinox Technologies, in a move both companies describe as a major step toward strengthening Africa’s technology value chain.
The partnership, unveiled at a joint media briefing attended by channel partners and members of the press, positions TD Africa as the singular distributor of Zinox’s full range of products across Nigeria, with an expanded reach across other African markets.
‘Africa Meets Africa’
Speaking at the event, Mrs. Chioma Chimere, coordinating managing director of TD Africa, described the partnership as a fulfilment of the company’s long-standing mission to empower individuals and businesses across the continent through accessible technology.
“Our ecosystem is Africa. That’s where we live, that’s where we work, and that’s where empowerment must happen,” she said. “For us to partner with an indigenous African company producing solutions tailored to African realities is a dream come true.”
She noted that while global brands often struggle to fully understand local infrastructure challenges, particularly power instability, Zinox has built products designed specifically for African conditions.
“When you partner with foreign vendors, you sometimes face gaps in understanding our environment, power fluctuations, half-current supply, outages. But Zinox understands these realities. Their products are built with our unique needs in mind,” she added.
Chimere highlighted Zinox’s range of consumer electronics and power solutions, including rechargeable fans, microwaves, inverters, and batteries, as examples of locally engineered products that address everyday challenges faced by African households and businesses.
From Manufacturing to Market Scale
In his address, Ikenna Ekeh, group head, Computing Business at TD Africa, said the partnership marks a new phase in the company’s evolution from manufacturing excellence to scaled market penetration.
“Today’s engagement is not merely about announcing a partnership; it is about reaffirming a vision that began over two decades ago, that Africa must not only consume technology but design, build, and scale it,” he said.
According to him, innovation alone is insufficient without strong distribution capabilities.
“For technology to create impact, it must move efficiently, reliably, and at scale, from the factory floor to institutions, enterprises, and end users,” he said.
By combining Zinox’s local manufacturing capacity with TD Africa’s expansive distribution network, spanning thousands of channel partners and multiple technology categories, the companies aim to build a robust ecosystem for African-made technology.
Three Strategic Pillars
Also speaking, Chioma Nwoke, executive director/group strategic human resources management, at Zinox Technologies, said the partnership is anchored on three key pillars:
“Market Access: Leveraging TD Africa’s channel network to deepen Zinox’s penetration across enterprise, government, education, SME, and financial services sectors.
“Market Confidence: Sending a strong signal that African technology brands can compete at global standards in quality and professionalism.
“Scalability: Utilizing TD Africa’s logistics and regional infrastructure to reduce deployment limitations caused by fragmented markets”.
She said the collaboration will focus on digital education devices, enterprise computing infrastructure, consumer electronics, power and energy solutions, and secure devices for mission-critical environments.
What it Means for Partners
Mrs. Chimere noted that the distributor has historically strengthened the presence of both global and emerging brands across Africa.
“With Zinox, the goal is similar: expand visibility, improve supply chain efficiency, and enhance partner support”.
Channel partners at the event raised questions around delivery timelines, support structures, and potential bureaucratic delays under the new arrangement.
Responding, the executives assured stakeholders that the partnership would streamline, not complicate, operations, with TD Africa’s logistics backbone expected to improve product availability, service coverage, and turnaround time.
“We are not building a transactional relationship,” Mrs. Chimere said. “This is a long-term, strategic collaboration anchored on innovation, integrity, and sustained impact.”
Nation-Building through Technology
Beyond commercial objectives, both companies framed the partnership as part of a broader nation-building agenda.
“We believe Africa’s digital transformation must be driven by African enterprises,” Nwoke furher assured. “Local manufacturing creates jobs, builds skills, and retains value within our economies.”
TD Africa echoed the sentiment, pledging to ensure Zinox products are accessible nationwide.
“It doesn’t matter which state of the Federal Republic you are in, you will find Zinox products there. That is what we do: we make technology available and accessible,” Chimere said.
As the companies look ahead, they emphasized continued investment in local manufacturing, product innovation, and ecosystem-wide collaboration.
“Africa’s technology future will not be imported,” the Zinox executive concluded. “It will be built, distributed, and sustained by partnerships like this.”
With the agreement now in place, industry observers say the TD Africa–Zinox alliance could serve as a template for scaling indigenous innovation across the continent’s fast-growing digital economy.
One of the distributors present at the event, Engineer Anthony Anigbogu, chief executive officer of Orbit Brothers Communications, applauded Zinox Technologies for showing great understanding of the peculiarities of the Nigerian market and Africa at large.
In his words:
“I have been using Zinox products, especially the iTEC TV for years now, including the iPower renewable energy product. They are rugged. In fact, most people around my area now use iTEC television, because I have sold the market to them. I strongly believe in this brand because the people behind it understand the needs of the people”.
Some of the products displayed at the event under Zinox products family include the 75 inches all-in-one smart board; Zinox Elite Pro2 laptop; Zibra Pro Tab; Zinox PoS terminal; iPower renewable energy products and iTEC electronics and home appliances.
Founded in 2001 by Chief Leo Stan Ekeh, the chairman, Zinox Group is Nigeria’s leading integrated ICT solutions conglomerate, recognized as the first internationally certified indigenous computer brand.
Headquartered in Lagos, it specializes in computer assembly, high-end ICT solutions, renewable energy (iPower), and digital infrastructure, including the ownership of e-commerce giant, Konga.
