The world's first Firefox OS smartphone will be launched in two African countries later this week, according to Sebastien Crozier, chief executive officer of Orange Horizons.

Crozier told ITWeb Africa that the Firefox branded smartphone would be launched in southern African country Botswana and, North African nation Tunisia.

The Orange Klif, which is a 3G phone and runs on Orange's mobile network, was already made available for purchase in Senegal and Madagascar last week.

"This week, it is being launched in Tunisia and Botswana," Crozier told ITWeb Africa.

He added, "It is due to launch soon in Egypt, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Kenya and Maurice Island."

Earlier this year at Mobile World Congress - Mozilla announced that it would start shipping its flagship smartphone to the African continent.