618 MILLION
Estimated mobile services subscriptions in Sub-saharan Africa by 2025
During the pandemic, a report by the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), an association representing the interests of mobile operators and the broader mobile industry worldwide, shows that mobile operators have implemented measures to support vulnerable communities, including offering discounts on mobile tariffs and providing digital content and tools to help people and businesses get online.
UNECA data indicates that for many micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa, e-commerce has offered a lifeline and can continue to play a principal role in their economic recovery.
Digital transformation in the form of mobile subscriber penetration, and mobile Internet users among others, is well under way across various economic communities of the continent.
This rapid adoption of mobile technology that is trending across the Sub-saharan Africa region has allowed the development of mobile-enabled platforms, which are increasingly disrupting traditional value chains in different vertical industries across the region.
“These trends have cost implications both for the sellers and buyers of products, which later have positive implications for the macroeconomic performance of a nation,” said Debebe.
The platforms can eliminate the inefficiencies of conventional business models, extend the reach of services and provide greater choice to customers who are still often underserved compared to those in more developed markets, says a GSMA and UNECA joint report.
The Kenya-based Copia Global, founded as a business-to-consumer e-commerce platform to serve middle- and low-income African consumers, for instance, recently announced that it raised $50 million to accelerate its growth in the region.
High growth expectations
Although many of the solutions linked with e-commerce originate in the practices of developed countries and may be considered less relevant for the African context, findings suggest that high levels of mobile phone use have had a significant impact on several economic sectors, including agriculture, fishing, health, and education, according to Pricewaterhousecoopers.
Debebe concurs, saying despite its contribution for job creation appearing limited in the short term, however, in line with telecom infrastructure growth and modernization of the banking sector that promotes the electronic payment system, mobile trading will be a good source of job opportunities in the long run. “Better opportunities are coming for African youth in the digital sector,” he believes. Those mobile jobs will be assisted by the fact that GSMA predicts that 618 million people in Sub-saharan Africa will subscribe to mobile services by 2025, equivalent to 50 percent of