ICT in Africa smartly does it

Battle for the smartphone market
These leading companies have ambitious aims over the next few years. Samsung held over half of the smartphone market in Africa in the second quarter of 2013, for the fourth quarter in a row, according to IDC. The company pledged, in 2011, to increase its revenue from Africa five-fold to $10bn by 2015. 

Huawei, which is very interested in the Nigerian market, meanwhile aims to sell twice as many units as last year in 2013. Sony could also be one to look out for. According to IDC, its share of the African mobile market has jumped from a fraction of a percentage to 3.4%. BlackBerry is also upbeat about its future in Africa. “With our existing footprint in Africa, we were early to spot this opportunity, and we continue to invest in this continent’s potential,” says Bose from BlackBerry. “We have already helped to bring connectivity to many people and businesses in Africa, and will continue to grow our presence in this important part of the world.”

“We will keep launching our latest global products in Africa as we introduce them in the rest of the world. Our view is that Africans want the same rich apps, social networking, robust security and streamlined communications as consumers and businesses anywhere else in the world. As an example, the newly launched BlackBerry Z30 smartphone will be available in Africa soon,” Bose adds.

Nonetheless, advanced feature phones also still occupy a reasonable segment of the market. In Kenya they account for nearly a third of the market and in South Africa almost a fifth. Basic feature phones continue to dominate in the majority of countries. In Nigeria they make up almost 60% of the market, in Kenya 56%, in Senegal 81%.

Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services division in a €5.4bn deal leaves the company in a strong position from which to exploit continued demand for advanced feature and dumb phones as well as capture more of the smartphone market; Nokia has, for years, been a leading brand for non-smart phones in Africa.

“Despite the rapid growth of Africa’s middle class over the past decade, average income per person is still reasonably low, so this market continues to be very price sensitive,” explains Bose from BlackBerry. “That said, users also see a lot of benefit in connectivity, so they are willing to spend disposable income on devices and services that empower them with convenience and information. Affordability of devices and data services is key to adoption.”