First, it is important to appreciate OEMs do not like developing various versions of the same phone. It increases the cost of manufacturing and complicates the supply chain management system. When it comes to updates, OEMs are forced to develop various updates for the same phone but for different regions. It’s not something they like.
If we had a kenyan version of a phone it would come pre-loaded with apps and functionalities that may be applicable and usable in Kenya BUT might pass for bloatware. From what I have seen, that would also mean that some of the functionalities would be disabled out of the box. e.g NFC, Face-unlock etc. Imagine getting a jumia app as soon as you unbox your brand new phone.
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has tried to force OEMs to meet some conditions before selling their devices locally. One of them is the inclusion of band 28 on all LTE devices sold by vendors in Kenya. If the CA becomes tough to OEMs, and Kenya becomes an important market, then, overtime we might get a Kenyan/African version of the phone.
Here are some examples of what countries have done to force OEMs to develop various versions of the same phone
China is tough! and all phones sold in china must meet certain punitive conditions such as sending data anonymously to the government everyday. if you have a chinese phone here in Kenya with a chinese rom (hata kama umebadilisha language from chinese to english), your data eg call logs are with the chinese government as we speak. China does not like people using the google playstore. so hio pia inatolewa mapema sana.
Europe has strict regulations on use and distribution of software & apps especially when it comes to installing back-doors. So OEMs like Xiaomi and Huawei will tweak their software a bit to avoid being banned or fined. Google, Apple and other tech companies have been fined billions by European courts for employing some illegal business tactics.
India is probably the toughest because it has regulations that force companies to assemble the devices sold within India itself. Sasmsung, oppo and xiaomi have assembly factories there. The phones must also meet the governments tough regulations.
Another reason why OEMs develop a different version of the same phone is the bands, and the usability of some functions such as NFC. Things like NFC and provision of a wide array of bands costs money which OEMs are keen on saving. Therefore OEMs will only provide what the country requires but this also depends on the economies of scale.
Kenya is not an important markets to OEMs bar Infinix and Techno. And Kenya cannot threaten OEMs. After all, Market analysis shows that most Kenyans only purchase budget devices. That’s why Vivo and Motorola left the kenyan market.
Global version
Since markets like Kenya are too small and a bit liberalized, there is no need to manufacture a completely new version of the phone. Instead the OEM comes up with a range of specifications that would satisfy a wide range of countries without loosing the phone’s functionality. The same version of the phone is then sold in each of those markets. The company is therefore able to leverage on the economies of scale
I know @tall mnyama everywhere argues that Xiaomi has two global versions of the same phone (Redmi Note 7). One being the EU-Global version and the other African-Global Version. Well I have checked mi.com/eu and they seem to be selling the Global version (without band 28) in UK, Spain and France. But the software in EU phones is quite different (to meet EU regulations).
Most OEMs will only give you one global version not two or three. The other phones are marketed and sold in specific regions although they may appear like global versions because they have a google playstore and are in English.
Huawei for example seems to develop the following versions of phones. Besides the global version. Other OEMs follow a similar pattern including Apple.
APAC (Asia pacific)
LATAM (Latin America)
MEA (Middle East and Africa)
India
China
USA
Europe