Since its announcement in late July 2019 to expand into the region, vivo has successfully entered 14 markets, expanded its sales channels and brought to consumers various innovative and trendsetting handset options.

By the end of the year, vivo will further expand its sales channels and after sales outlets in the Middle East and Africa region, especially in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nigeria with major names including Amazon-backed Souq, Emaar-backed Noon and Jumia joining the list of retailers selling vivo handsets.

In particular, vivo's S1 and V17 Pro handsets are already proving to be popular choices amongst young consumers, which it attributes to its market-entry approach.

"We are thankful for the positive reception we have had so far from customers across the Middle East and Africa markets. As we move into 2020, we will further immerse ourselves into the markets to learn about the different needs of the consumers there and further redefine our products and services to provide world-leading features that are innovative on their behalf," said Jet Xu, President of vivo Middle East and Africa. "Afterall, our brand mission is to make consumers' lives extraordinary through introducing innovative technology, being a trendsetter and an influencer within today's youth culture. This is why when entering the region, our research teams visited different countries and conducted in-depth research into consumer needs."

The V17 Pro, which features best-in-class design elements from vivo's high-end series, has proven popular amongst younger consumers with the industry's first ever high-quality 32MP Dual Pop-up Front Camera, as well as a powerful 48MP rear AI Quad Camera. Housing a total of 6 cameras, the V17 Pro delivers sophisticated photography quality. Featuring an Ultra FullView™ Display for an uninterrupted visual experience and packing strong hardware to deliver high performance, the phone offers all the benefits of a premium phone at a mid-price range.

The S1 was set to provide consumers with a taste of professional photography with AI. Features like AI Portrait Framing were added to help consumers form better composition for a perfect shot, and AI Face Beauty to make selfie-taking even more enjoyable and fun. Another popular feature in the S1 is vivo's AI-powered personal assistant, Jovi that can understand the users' needs. With Jovi Image Recogniser, users can access almost a hundred mainstream e-commerce platforms to search through a database of over half a billion products.

Vivo's significant investment and entry into the Middle East and Africa region is no accident. According to the GSMA, by 2023 mobile's contribution in the Middle East and Africa region will reach just over $220 billion as countries benefit from increased infrastructure, take-up of mobile services and 5G deployments. As of October 2019, 10 operators have already launched commercial 5G services across the five GCC Arab states.

"The Middle East and Africa region is of strategic importance and a key part of our strategy", added Xu. "We are confident that we will expand and be successful here in the coming year because we continue to redefine quality products and services for local consumer needs."

As 2020 approaches, vivo aims to start off strong with the Redefine Your 2020, Redefine Your Selfies campaign with its V17 Pro and S1 handsets.