Insect-repelling locally assembled electronics to save  Kenyans KSh 750 million annually

Kenya’s pioneer local assembler of consumer electronics, Vision Plus, has today announced that Kenyan consumers will save over Ksh 750 million annually in aggregate repair and premature replacement fees following the integration of insect-repelling features across its entire range of household electronics.

The groundbreaking technological milestone makes Vision Plus the first manufacturer globally to engineer a synchronized, pest-resilient ecosystem for the home. The move is set to save over 10 million TV and audio-owning households in Kenya millions of shillings in avoidable service and replacement costs.

A local assembler operating at the Tatu City industrial special economic zone, and armed with a deep understanding of the African environment, Managing Director Umesh Bhojwani stated the firm found that nearly 30% of hardware failures in Kenyan households, ranging from motherboard short circuits to speaker coil corrosion, were caused by insect infestations seeking warmth and shelter inside electronic housings.

“To solve this local reality, we integrated Environmental Resilience Technology (ERT) into visual and audio lines to protect the entire home entertainment hub and lengthen the lifetime of these investments, which should ideally last at least three years,” said Umesh. He pointed out that the infestations had shortened the average lifespan of electronics in Kenyan households to approximately four months.

He explained that the financial impact of this tropicalized engineering is substantial. Noting that for most Kenyan families, electronics represent a significant long-term investment, pest damage often leads to catastrophic failures that occur just after warranty periods, forcing expensive repairs or total replacements.

The features work by delivering ultrasonic deterrence where integrated modules emit frequencies that are harmless to humans and pets but create an acoustic barrier for insects like cockroaches and ants. Its internal nano-sealing involves treating critical components, including motherboards and chips with a specialized coating to prevent corrosion caused by biological debris.