Mobile Industry In Africa: Morocco, The Jewel Of TheDunes

amgoo.com /blog/mobile-industry-in-africa-morocco-the-jewel-of-the-dunes

Sep 23, 2014 8:00:00 AM

Morocco is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Africa. After all, who can resist the romanticnames of Marrakesh, or Casablanca? Vistas of beautiful oases, rolling sand dunes, and ancientArabesque ruins will also spring to mind.

But as well as being a popular destination for travellers, Morocco's economy is comparatively very

healthy by African standards. This has led to the Moroccan mobile industry being one of the mostadvanced areas of the entire mobile industry in Africa!

How is the Moroccan mobile industry so advanced? Which direction will it be going in the future, andhow do mobile operators in Morocco stand to benefit from their country's mobile infrastructure in thecoming years?

We'll look in more detail at Morocco and its mobile infrastructure, and answer these questions in thisblog...

Why Is The Moroccan Mobile Industry So Advanced?

Morocco has benefited by a lot of foreign investment since its independence from France and Spain in1956. To this day France, its former master, remains the number trading partner for imports andexports.

The Western influence of France has extended into Morocco's telecoms industry, as for years Frenchcompanies have been stake-holders in the local network operators, which shows in Morocco'sadvanced coverage, technology, and ease with which the population are able to enjoy mobile services.

It was only recently in November 2013 that Vivendi, the French telecoms giant, sold its 53% stake inMaroc Telecom (the country's largest operator by some margin) to Dubai's Etisalat, for anenormous €4.2 billion!

This shows the level of investment and money that is to be found in Morocco's mobile industry, and thatis without mentioning its other 2 operators.

There are 3 operators, each having 3G licenses:

IAM / Maroc Telecom (33 Million customers)

Meditel (7.8 Million users)

Inwi (2 Million users)

It's not unusual for mobile internet to be more popular than fixed line broadband in Africa, and Moroccois no different. 85% of internet users log on via their phones there, but broadband coverage is not bad

by African standards.

There are projected to be 2.9 Million fixed line broadband users by the end of 2014, which works out atalmost 9% of the population. A ratio vastly in advance of the sub-Saharan mobile industry in Africa,which is often only in the low single digits.

Where Does Morocco Stand In The Future Of The Mobile Industry InAfrica?

As well as having very good 3G coverage, Morocco is expecting to roll out 4G coverage by late 2014,making it one of the very first countries in Africa to enjoy such a service!

By having relatively advanced mobile networks that cover all of the major areas of Morocco, expect tosee even more Moroccans enjoying mobile services such as M-banking and other apps that enricheveryone's lives as long as they have access to mobile internet.

Telecoms, IT, and tourism are 3 of the fastest growing sectors in Morocco's economy. All three of thesesectors push forward the mobile industry, and with year-on-year growth of around 5% averagely, wecan expect to see Morocco remain at the forefront of the mobile industry in Africa for the foreseeablefuture.

The mobile industry there will continue to benefit the Moroccan people's lives positively, as despite therelatively advanced networks, many Moroccans live rurally and work as farmers. Since agriculture isMorocco's largest industry, it's these agricultural workers who have the most to gain from technology infuture.

Expect them to be embracing smartphones for the first time, and getting the access to basic health,farming, and educational information that makes their lives easier, just as it is doing for farmers southof the Sahara.

What Benefits Are there For Moroccan Mobile Operators Moving Forward?

The great benefit for Moroccan mobile operators is that you are not hampered by an immature mobileinfrastructure. As we have discussed, 3G and soon 4G services are commonplace, meaning that you'renot going to have so much difficulty to persuade people to make the switch from feature phones tosmartphones.

It's projected that mobile subscriptions are set to keep growing by 8% year on year. In an already fairlysaturated market, this doesn't mean that people will be getting their first ever phone like in much ofsub-Saharan African, but that they will be moving from pay-as-you-go, to contract subscriptions.

There are still a lot of poorer agricultural workers in Morocco as mentioned earlier, and it's these peoplewill make the leap from feature phones to smartphones.

You should offer them:

Low cost contracts

Entry-level smartphones

Cheap data bundles to give an introduction to mobile internet

One such entry-level smartphone that is ideal for the mobile industry in Africa is the AMGOO AM506'Spark!' This $30 smartphone is an ideal way for Moroccans to get a smartphone for the first time, butAMGOO also offers a full range of smartphones, from premium quad-core models, to entry-level.

Click below to see them, and how they will fit your network's needs:

Topics: Operators, Africa mobile industry