Verone Mankou, an entrepreneur in Congo has followed the launch of the Way-C tablet with a smartphone called Elikia. Mankou runs a startup named VMK and wants to put Africa onto the technology map.

The smartphone runs on Android operating system and features a 3.5 inch display, 512 RAM, a camera of 5 MP and retails at $170. Elikia is available in black, white and pink.

The tablet Way-C means "the light of the stars," and measures 7.4″ x 6.7″ x 0.5″ and weighs 13.4 ounces. With an internal memory of 4 GB and Wi-Fi connectivity, the tablet is priced at $300.

Though Mankou expects VMK to be as popular in Africa as Apple in U.S. and Samsung in Asia, the gadgets are already facing some negative speculations. It is suspected that these gadgets have been manufactured by original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in China and are not authentic VMK products, according to smartplanet.com. But the brand is ready to face and counter these speculations with a specific section on its site that confirms the authenticity of the devices.

VMK stands its ground in saying that the quality and authenticity of the gadgets have not been compromised on and even that if the gadgets were OEM produced then they would not be able to collaborate with a worldwide operator like Airtel.

VMK also has a valid justification as to why the gadgets were being produced in China. Mankou told AFP that the African element has been included in the smartphone and tablet as much as possible but the gadgets are manufactured in China "for the simple reason that Congo has no factories and for price reasons," according to smartplanet.com.