Malawi superstar Tay Grin, real name Limbani Kalilani, on Wednesday signed an K8 million deal with Astro Mobile to become the mobile company’s brand ambassador.
In a press release, it is indicated that Tay Grin and Astro Mobile’s agreement is a result of their shared values in African culture and the motivation to better the lives of Africans by providing the platform for the citizens to communicate easily.
“I believe in Astro Mobile’s mission to give a voice to millions of Africans. Astro delivers eye-catching, top performance and affordable smartphones to its customers. Astro will surely fill the gap in Malawi for those who are looking for amazing phones but have limited budgets,” Tay Grin said.
Tay Grin added that he was inspired by the story of Astro Mobile’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Munyaradzi Gwatidzo, an orphan with love for mobile phones who turned his passion for technology into a business empire.
Astro Mobile General Manager Michael Gova justified why working with Tay Grin as a brand ambassador is a perfect match.
“Astro defines itself as an Afrocentric mobile and electronic solutions provider and the Tay Grin brand is a proudly Afrocentric one. Tay’s passion for Malawian culture is unprecedented, and can be heard in his musical and lyrical prowess, and also seen in his appearance and in his actions. This therefore presented us with a very interesting convergence of two Afrocentric powerhouses and limitless possibilities. Tay Grin would therefore present a successfully commercialised African brand which any progressive business entity cannot ignore,” he said.
According to Astro Mobile, Tay Grin was also chosen as brand ambassador due to his strong influence amongst the youth; his huge social media following on Facebook (Limbani Kalilani and Official Tay Grin 60,000 likes); Twitter (12,700 followers); Instagram (25,800 followers); YouTube (1,401 subscribers) but his latest video Tola has been viewed 128,113 times; his connections across the continent and beyond in the process collaborating with more than 20 artists across Africa and beyond; and lastly, Tay Grin is implementing a number of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives including his role as UN Women ‘He is a HeForShe’ Ambassador influencing change in the Malawian society by sustaining cultural practices that are important in the country’s development while trying to change some cultural practices which have disadvantaged a section of the society especially girls and women.
Astro is a rapidly expanding e-commerce company and a mobile and electronic solutions provider employing over 2000 people, with branches in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa. Its mission is to give a voice to millions of Africans citizens by providing a range of affordable, high quality smartphones throughout the continent; encapsulated in the company’s motto:
“It’s All About You”. Some of the company’s awards and achievements are: Astro Mobile founder earns Top ICT Innovator of the Year Award at the ICT 2013 Achievers Award (2013); Assembly line for Mobile Phones & Digital Smart TVs is imported into Africa, Zimbabwe (September 2015); Astro Mobile Africa wins the ‘Outstanding Mature Business’ category award at the African Awards for Enterpreneurs) run by the African Leadership Network (October 2015); Astro Mobile wins the Gold Medal in the Telecommunications category at the Small to Medium Enterprises International Expo (October 2015); and Astro Mobile founder win the ZNCC Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2016).
Tay Grin is a multi-award winner with numerous international collaborations which include Beenie Man (Jamaica), Brick & Lace (Jamaica) and more than 20 artists across Africa. He won Channel O Music Awards in 2009 and has won more awards in the United Kingdom and Malawi. He has performed in the United Kingdom, United States, Iceland and Ireland plus a number of other African countries. His music videos have enjoyed massive airplay on local TV and radios as well as international TV channels like Channel O, MTV Base and Trace Africa. For his promotion and preserving of culture in his music, Tay Grin was this year recognised by chiefs with a Chewa Heritage Award. His recent hit ‘Tola’ has been nominated for All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).