Deloitte unveils its study dedicated to Africa’s changing usage, consumption and market trends in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector in 2018.

1. The smartphone at a time of invisible innovations

 

67% of mobile phone users in Africa say they are likely to buy a smartphone in the next 12 months … Connectivity (75%), battery life (67%) and internal memory (65%) are the features that motivate the most choice for the purchase of a smartphone.

By 2020, the number of smartphone users should almost double: 660 million Africans (against 336 million in 2016) should be equipped with a smartphone, this will represent a penetration rate of nearly 55%, and nearly half a billion Internet access will be via smartphone …

2. Excessive use of smartphones
In 2023, users will interact an average of 65 times a day with their smartphone, compared to 50 times in 2017 worldwide. The frequency of use of smartphones is increasing, but more and more people are asking the question of their excessive consumption … They are worried about the nuisance of their smartphone during certain activities such as driving, walking, discussions , sleep and time spent with family and friends.

45% of adults and 65% of 18-24 year olds in the world believe that they interact too much with their phone, and more than half try to reduce their use.

With the growth of smartphone adoption (37% of the population in 2017), more and more people are asking the question of their excessive consumption. 80% of them use it more than an hour a day, so they are 48%, including 63% over 50, to consider themselves dependent on their smartphone.

To limit the use of their smartphone, users choose to disable the mobile Internet (59%) or notifications (34%), while others prefer to keep it in their bag or pocket (27%).

3. Augmented Reality at the Borders of Reality
Augmented reality makes it possible to superimpose a digital image on a real image. The technology has been around for decades, but has only recently become available to the general public.

In Africa, its most widespread use is through self-filtering applications. Thus, 63% of smartphone owners have already used augmented reality selfie filters, the most frequent users being for 3/4 aged between 18 and 34 years.

“The emergence of augmented reality applications on the African continent is still in its infancy, but there are some concrete cases. We can mention the First National Bank which has developed an augmented reality application that indicates the distance to agencies, contacts and opening hours. Or the publisher Afrika Publishers in South Africa has launched an augmented reality application that enriches high school students’ books with audio-visual content, “says Karim Koundi, Associate Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) for Deloitte Francophone Africa.

4. Machine learning gains ground
In Africa, new technologies related to machine learning and artificial intelligence in general are emerging in the health sector to facilitate access to basic health care in developing countries. For example, they make it possible, thanks to photos taken by smartphone, to identify the biological markers of a cancer of the mouth or to carry out eye tests and to detect ocular diseases. The smartphone becomes a tool for help in full screening …

In addition, companies also use artificial intelligence to detect security intrusions (44%), to solve technological problems (41%) or to assess internal compliance (34%).

5. The “live” flourishes in a digital world
Live broadcasts and events are gaining momentum in consumer habits thanks to and despite the impact of digital. They will generate more than 545 billion US dollars of sales in 2018, of which 72% will come from television and radio.

Concerts, shows, conferences, sporting events, cinema should generate 146 billion US dollars in 2018.

45% of connected African users use the Internet to watch live events, mainly sports. Nevertheless, only 25% are willing to spend more than $ 20 per year to watch live broadcasts.

6. Music streaming and the digital press in full boiling
Consumers are increasingly willing to pay for content: by the end of 2018, one in two adults worldwide will have at least two paid digital subscriptions, and by 2020, 50% of adults will have at least four. More than 680 million subscriptions to digital subscriptions are expected by 2020 worldwide, mainly driven by SVOD and music; the largest consumers will spend up to US $ 1,200 per year on online subscriptions.

The main online media to which Africans are likely to subscribe are newspapers (58%), videos on demand (39%) and music (35%). The development of digital media is therefore booming in Africa, mainly in music streaming, with the strengthening of the positioning of world leaders and the development of African startups.

7. Wireless Internet is coming to your home
More and more homes are connected to the Internet via a cellular mobile network. Indeed, 20% of 18-24 year olds only use their mobile connection to access the Internet from home. These are mainly people from rural areas with low average incomes. This is enabled by the performance of mobile networks, wider geographical coverage of 4G and mobile plans offering more data. However, if, in 2018, 1 in 5 households in the United States and 3 out of 10 households in Brazil connect to the Internet via a cellular mobile network, this is only the case for 1 out of 10 households in Europe.

By 2018, 75% of African households connected to the Internet will be using mobile technologies. Indeed, the geographical coverage of 3G and 4G is larger and less expensive than wired Internet coverage.

Telecommunications operators and equipment manufacturers are playing the game by providing the public with a variety of Internet packages and devices adapted to the mobile home Internet, such as Internet mini boxes or Internet keys at more accessible price.

8. The beginnings of connectivity in planes
2018 has announced the beginnings of connectivity aboard aircraft in Africa. Indeed, Air Côte d’Ivoire has launched its first flight offering WiFi-on-board and many African companies have ordered aircraft equipped with this technology.

36% of respondents are willing to pay more than $ 20 to access the Wifi on the plane, this is the first desired service (46%), in front of the possibility of having a more comfortable seat (38%).

© 2018, Boursier.com

About The Author

CEO AfrikaTech

Comme beaucoup de personnes j’ai connu l’Afrique à travers des stéréotypes : l’Afrique est pauvre, il y a la guerre, famine… Je suis devenu entrepreneur pour briser ces clichés et participer à la construction du continent. J’ai lancé plusieurs entreprises dont Kareea (Formation et développement web), Tutorys (Plate-forme de e-learning), AfrikanFunding (Plate-forme de crowdfunding). Après un échec sur ma startup Tutorys, à cause d’une mauvaise exécution Business, un manque de réseau, pas de mentor, je suis parti 6 mois en immersion dans l’écosystème Tech au Sénégal. J’ai rencontré de nombreux entrepreneurs passionnés, talentueux et déterminés. A mon retour sur Paris je décide de raconter leur histoire en créant le média AfrikaTech. L'objectif est de soutenir les entrepreneurs qui se battent quotidiennement en Afrique en leur offrant la visibilité, les connaissances, le réseautage et les capitaux nécessaires pour réussir. L'Afrique de demain se construit aujourd'hui ensemble. Rejoignez-nous ! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boubacardiallo

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.