mobile technology east africa
DESCRIPTION
An overview of the state of mobile telecommunications in East AfricaTRANSCRIPT
Mobile Technology
An East Africa Perspective(9 Oct. 2012)
Agenda
1. Africa overview2. East Africa overview3. The power of mobile**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
0bXjgx4J0C4
Mobile in Africa
• 90% of all phones in Africa are mobile phones
• 700 million mobile connections (active SIM cards) 65% penetration
• 19% annual growth• 96% are prepaid subscribers• Nokia has 65% est. market share
Statistics from Jon Hoeler & Andrew McHenryhttp://www.slideshare.net/jonhoehler/insights-into-mobile-telecoms-in-africa-by-jonhoehler-andrewmchenryhttp://www.slideshare.net/jonhoehler/insights-into-the-mobile-internet-in-africa-8654168
Feature phones still prevalent
• Feature phones prevalent over Smartphones
• Introduction of sub $100 entry level Smartphones – Huawei IDEOS led the way, others following suit– Samsung Pocket– Alcatel One Touch
East Africa Highlights• As of April 2011
Kenya Uganda Tanzania
Mobile Subs. 26.5M 12.8M 23.8M
Mobile Pen. 67.2% 38.4% 56%
Fixed Line Subs. 374,942 327,114 174,678
MNOs Safaricom, Airtel Kenya, Essar, Telecom Kenya
MTN Uganda, Uganda Telecom, Airtel Uganda, World Telecom, Hits Telecom, Orange, i-Telecom, Smile Telecom
Vodacom, Tigo, Bharti Airtel, Zantel, TTCL, Benson, SasaTel
# Mobile phones 19,365,000 9,384,000 17,677,000
Mobile internet users
5.4M 605,000 462,000
Mobile Money Subs.
18.4M 3M 3M
iHub Research, Mobile Technology in East Africa, http://www.ihub.co.ke/blog/2012/05/mobile-technology-in-east-africa/
Kenya
• As per CCK Q3 2011/2012 (Jan – Mar 2012) statistics:1. 29.2 million mobile subscribers
– 28.9M prepaid (99%)– ~0.25 M postpaid
2. Mobile penetration 74%
Operator # Subscribers as of March 2012
Safaricom 19,074,700
Airtel 4,483,334
Essar Telecom (yU Mobile) 2,554,258
Telkom Kenya 3,099,357
http://www.cck.go.ke/resc/downloads/SECTOR_STATISTICS_REPORT_Q3_JUNE_2012.pdf
Kenya
• 18.987 million mobile money transfer subscriptions
• 45,861 mobile money agents• KES 185,361,277,029 in deposits in
the quarter
http://www.cck.go.ke/resc/downloads/SECTOR_STATISTICS_REPORT_Q3_JUNE_2012.pdf
Kenya
http://www.cck.go.ke/resc/downloads/SECTOR_STATISTICS_REPORT_Q3_JUNE_2012.pdf
Tanzania
• 26,978,436 mobile subscribers up from 25,827,518 as at Dec 2011
Operator # Subscribers
Vodacom ~12.6M
Airtel ~7.1M
Tigo ~5.5M
Zantel ~1.5M
Others (TTCL,Benson,SasaTel)
~0.23M
According to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) Q3 March 2012:http://www.tcra.go.tz/publications/telecomStatsMarch12.pdf
Tanzania
• 2.5% of Tanzania’s population has access to Internet
• 79.39% access the Internet on mobile phones
• Only 24% of Tanzanians use mobile money
iHub Research - http://www.ihub.co.ke/blog/2012/01/mobile-technology-in-tanzania/
http://www.audiencescapes.org/sites/default/files/Tanzania%20MM%20Tracker%20Qtr%201%20Report_For%20Public_COLOR_1.pdf
Tanzania
http://www.audiencescapes.org/sites/default/files/Tanzania%20MM%20Tracker%20Qtr%201%20Report_For%20Public_COLOR_1.pdf
Uganda
Uganda Communications Commission Post & Telecoms Annual Market Review 2010/11http://www.ucc.co.ug/files/downloads/2010%2011%20Annual%20Post%20and%20Telecommunications%20Market%20Review%20141111.pdf
Uganda
Uganda Communications Commission Post & Telecoms Annual Market Review 2010/11http://www.ucc.co.ug/files/downloads/2010%2011%20Annual%20Post%20and%20Telecommunications%20Market%20Review%20141111.pdf
Rwanda
• According to Rwanda Utilities Regulation Authority (RURA) June 2012:
1. 44.81% Mobile penetration rate2. ~4.756M mobile subscribers
Operator # Prepaid #Postpaid
MTN ~3.02M 11,732
TIGO ~1.62M 5,482
Airtel Rwanda 110,304 -
http://www.rura.gov.rw/docs/STATISTICS_AND_TARIFF_INFORMATION_%20IN_TELECOM_June_2012.pdf
Rwanda
Internet subscriptions of June 2012 (RURA)
http://www.rura.gov.rw/docs/STATISTICS_AND_TARIFF_INFORMATION_%20IN_TELECOM_June_2012.pdf
Ethiopia
• Ethio Telecom sole provider• 17M mobile subscribers ~18M incl
fixed line (current figures)• Targeting 65M and 75% penetration
by 2015• http://www.biztechafrica.com/article/ethio-telecom-tops-18m-subscribers/4181/• http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Ethiopia+to+overtake+Kenya+in+mobil
e+subscriptions+numbers/-/2558/1400048/-/view/printVersion/-/a378n2z/-/index.html
• http://investeddevelopment.com/blog/2011/11/can-lagging-ethiopia-reach-african-mobile-penetration-standards/
Usage
iHub Research, Mobile Technology in East Africa, http://www.ihub.co.ke/blog/2012/05/mobile-technology-in-east-africa/
Power of Mobile
• A communications platform– Voice / SMS– Mobile Internet based communications (e.g. MXit is
bigger in SA than Facebook)– Social networking
• An application Platform– A platform for delivering value to an audience– Mobile apps (both Smartphones and Feature phones
e.g. Binu, Snaptu – acquired by Facebook)
• A trading platform– Mobile money– M-commerce
Mobile – an application platform
• Deliver value straight to the user– Always on device– Virtually always in pocket or hand or very nearby– Ubiquitous technologies – SMS, USSD
• Innovative uses:– mAgriculture– mHealth– mLearning– mBanking & mTransactions / mMoney– mGovernance
• “The Innovative Use of Mobile Applications in East Africa” - http://sidapublications.citat.se/interface/stream/mabstream.asp?filetype=1&orderlistmainid=2861&printfileid=2861&filex=3830197052040
Mobile – an application platform
Application to… Use
Agriculture (mAgriculture) Education & AwarenessCommodity prices, market info.Data collectionPest, disease outbreak warning & tracking
Health (mHealth) Education & AwarenessData collection, health recordsMonitoring/medication complianceDisease/epidemic outbreak trackingHealth/administrative systemsAnalysis, diagnosis, consultation
Governance (mGovernance) Civic educationDelivery of public servicesDelivery of information (Education & Awareness)
Smartphone capabilities on your feature phone
Note on social networking / media
• Also have the same capacities as mobile:1. Social networks are communications
platforms2. They are also application platforms– Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)– E.g. Facebook app platform
• Social networking platforms are also becoming trading platforms – Facebook credits, Mxit Moola (virtual currency)
Social + Mobile = ?
• Simply Transformational!• And it’s happening…• Think Arab Spring:– New study quantifies use of social media
in Arab Spring - http://www.washington.edu/news/2011/09/12/new-study-quantifies-use-of-social-media-in-arab-spring/
–Mobile phones, social media and the Arab Spring - http://www.credemus.org/images/stories/reports/mobile-phones-and-the-arab-spring.pdf
Take-outs
1. Target your audience (esp. youth) where they already are:– Mobile– Social
2. For internet, go mobile web3. Leverage ubiquitous technology –
SMS is the best delivery platform for mass impact
Will MutuaFounder Afrinnovator (http://afrinnovator.com) Co-author ‘Innovative Africa: The new face of Africa’ (http://book.afrinnovator.com)http://twitter.com/afrinnovatorhttp://facebook.com/[email protected]
Thank you