The Ericsson Mobility Report for sub-Suharan Africa for November 2016 outlined mobile growth from 2016 to 2022
The report starts by outlining the macro-economic environment of the continent, 'The Sub-Saharan African market continues to exhibit growth, despite a relative slowdown due to lower commodity prices. Between 2018 and 2021, the region’s economy is projected to grow at a faster rate than the global average. It remains a preferred destination for foreign investment.'
The key figures for sub-Saharan Africa are that mobile subscriptions are to exceed one billion by 2022, with an estimated 1.03bn mobile subscribers, up from 720mn subscribers in 2016.
Smartphone subscribers will increase from 260mn in 2016 to 800mn in 2022. Data traffic per active smartphone will increase from 1gb per month to 5gb per month by 2022, with mobile traffic increasing from 0.3EB per month to 3.2EB per month.
One of the defining factors of this rise is the fact that 57 per cent of sub-Saharan Africans are below the age of 15. The mobile penetration of this demographic is currently around 35 per cent with the most likely demographic to spend time online are university students.
Nigeria has the largest mobile market in sub-Saharan Africa, with two handsets retailing below US$50. It is predicted that this market will continue to grow, thus, bringing more people online.
