The conference was opened by the Prime Minister of Senegal. While his speech was most likely wonderful unfortunatley the faulty translation headsets left the English speakers wondering and also wishing we had brushed up on our French.
Developments and trends in West and Central Africa
New stats and trends for West and Central Africa (WCA) for telecoms markets were discussed and these inlcude …..
• WCA market to grow by 100% over next 5 years
• WCA telecoms market has generated $16 billion in 2009
• Overall penetration at 40% in Q1 2010
• Over 10 new networks launched between 2009/10
The Nigerian market is strongest and represents 46% of WCA market, although not all WAC markets are growing. The DRC for example has experienced negative growth rates in 2009 , a combination of being hit by economic crisis and the local market environment.
Rising trend: Wireless broadband new frontier for investors
Subscriptions to soar from 3 million in 2010 to over 30 million by 2013
Rising trend: Mobile money used as retention tool
Mobile money is taking hold in WAC. Originally started in East Africa for the unbanked population, mobile money is now entirely part of strategies for all big the investors in West and Central Africa (MTN, Orange, Zain, Vodafone). The service is being used as customer retention tool to reduce churn.
Rising Trend: Increased Regulation
WAC seing increased regulation which is thought to be positive. For example SIM card registration are enforced for security reasons and this will maybe force operators to be more transparent on reporting subscription rates.
60% of Population not connected
The most staggering statistic on Day 1 is that 60% of rural population are not connected by internet and broadband. This highlights the large digital divide in WCA and reaffirms what we at ForgetMeNot Africa are trying to achieve by enabling everyone to access email and chat on any mobile phone.
