The Geco Cam, produced by South African company Geco and launched globally at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January, has begun shipping the 270 pre-orders it received for the device at the cost of ZAR2,000 (US$173).
Disrupt Africa reported in January Geco, which launched in 2013 in Johannesburg, had launched its first product – Geco Cam – one of the lightest cameras in the world at approximately 20 grammes, giving it the ability to be mounted onto glasses comfortably.
The camera aims to make operation as quick and easy as possible, coming with a single tactile button that clicks in when the device is switched on and simultaneously starts recording footage. It also boasts a lens with a 100-degree viewing angle for panoramic effect.
Geco chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder Prinesh Naidoo told Disrupt Africa interest levels since CES had been large and the company had begun shipping its pre-order units, which number 270 and are mostly heading for the United States (US) and Canada.
“We are very excited with the demand for the camera thus far because we haven’t done any official advertising or marketing campaigns,” he said.
“It has proved very popular and our customers from all over the world are very happy with their user experience.”
Assembled in South Africa from parts imported from South Korea and China, the Geco Cam was developed through a combination of bootstrapping and investment from Africa Angels Network (AAN).
“We plan to conquer online sales first in an effort to get our brand out onto the market and once we have done that we will explore larger retailers in the market,” Naidoo said.
