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Changing face of Africa's mobile user

Lebo Mashiloane
By Lebo Mashiloane
Johannesburg, 16 Jan 2014

The new mobile device user will be different from the past user; he or she will be poorer, younger, less educated and unlikely to have access to fixed broadband.

This is according to Vicky Myburgh, head of entertainment and media at professional services company, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Expanding on the findings of PwC's annual forecast report of advertising and consumer spending, Myburgh says many African consumers will use their mobile devices not primarily for communicating, but for the purpose of entertainment, accessing information or transferring money.

"This is typified in South Africa, where large swathes of the population remain unable to afford a computer with a fixed broadband connection, and mobile presents a far cheaper, more accessible alternative," she says.

She adds that young, rural and upwardly mobile consumers will increasingly use their devices to find jobs and new partners. Further, small enterprises' dependence on mobility to conduct business will increase, as they do not possess enterprise-class fixed assets.

"Low-cost devices will be essential if the full suite of consumer needs is to be met in some of the world's poorest and middle-class countries. The desire for a smartphone will drive the low-end, cheap devices market."

Additionally, she notes that the quality of the customer experience will change from concerns around network congestion and coverage, to Internet speeds and the relevance of services on offer. One sub-segment this will impact is mobile gaming, which is forecast to be the biggest driver of video games growth in SA.

"Africa's economy as a whole will benefit from an increase in mobile penetration," Myburgh says. "The World Economic Forum's Global IT report for 2013 suggests a 10% increase in mobile penetration can lead to a 1% rise in low- to medium-income [countries'] economies."

For Myburgh, this explains why there have been concerted efforts by policymakers to accelerate digitisation across many markets in Africa.

The underlying journey is from 'mass media' to 'my media', and companies that successfully accompany consumers along the way will be the ones that have the speed, flexibility and insight to engage and monetise an ever more diverse consumer base by delivering personalised, relevant and, ultimately, indispensable content experiences.

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