Research firm Manifest Mind forecasts that the African mobile market is to grow at an annual rate of 21.27% from 2013 to 2020 to almost quadruple in size from a value of $60 billion in 2013 to $234 billion by 2020.
“Africa is a market which is largely misunderstood due to cultural and social issues. While African countries include half of the top 10 fastest-growing economies in the world, it is a very challenging marketplace to penetrate,” says Carol L. Stimmel, founder of Manifest Mind, LLC.
Mobile network operators in African continent will be the largest beneficiaries of the growth during this period, followed by mobile distributors and retailers.
The report indicates that the demand for smartphones could also rise significantly during the same period, as well as, the market for mobile apps and content development will also expand considerably.
With the adoption of new technologies and upgradation of infrastructures by mobile network operators from 2G to 3G and 4G long-term evolution (LTE) will further boosts the African appetite for data, mobile web browsing, and the latest mobile apps.
