I first saw this phone a few weeks ago when a friend plopped it down on our restaurant table. I initially had trouble processing what I was seeing. At a time when phone manufacturers are racing to make devices ever thinner, the sheer size of this thing is almost lewd.

I made fun of him for his brick and listened disbelievingly when he said everyone had one. The phone lay forgotten as we caught up over lunch.

A few days later, while walking by a colleague’s desk, I noticed a familiar black silhouette. It was the same phone.

Huh.

Back in front of my laptop, I fired up Gmail and clicked the first email in my inbox — a promotional message by e-commerce startup, Jumia. The featured deal?

Since then, this phone keeps popping up everywhere I go. It’s obviously very popular, and it’s clearly taking off. But why?

Why’re some of my most stylish, most tech-savvy friends — all of whom already own smartphones — suddenly lugging this thing around?

This is what I’ve found.

1. Basic Details

Here’re some basic details about the phone:

Costs between 100 and 150 Ghana Cedis (about 25 to 38 USD)

Can hold up to 3 SIM Cards

Has built-in FM radio

Comes with Facebook and WhatsApp pre-installed

Doubles as a power bank to charge small electronics

LED flashlight

2. It’s All About the Power Bank

One thing that quickly became clear when I spoke to people is that the number one reason they bought the phone is to use it as a power bank.

Ghana is currently experiencing a severe power crisis — city-wide blackouts of 36 hours or more have become the norm in the capital, and a brisk business has grown around selling power banks, which are small portable rechargable batteries that can be used to charge small electronics such as MP3 players and, yes, phones.