By MKPE ABANG, in Cape Town
Africa’s 1.12 billion people have mobile operators on the continent to thank for much of the growth going in the region lately. A case in point is the revelation just made by the GSM Association in Cape Town, South Africa that the mobile industry contributed over $100 billion to the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa last year, this being equivalent to 5.7 per cent of the region’s gross domestic product, according to the new study by GSMA just released.
According to the study, Mobile operators directly contributed $31 billion, representing 1.7 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP. This is not to mention the almost unquantifiable change in social and life pattern across Africa occasioned by the widespread use and adoption of mobile services including mobile telephony, mobile money, among others.
Going further, the GSMA forecasts that the industry would contribute $166 billion in value to the region by 2020, equivalent to 8 per cent of expected GDP.
However, it was not all about cheery news. The study, titled ‘The Mobile Economy – Sub-Saharan Africa 2015,’ noted very well many of the well-known yet-to-be-tackled challenges besetting Africa, and which have been the biggest hurdles to the continent’s overall growth.
The study notes that there are challenges ahead, with subscriber growth rates set to slow, reflecting the obstacles that remain in bringing connectivity to the region.
Mobile operator revenue growth, for instance, is also slowing as a result of the pressure on subscriber growth, as well as factors such as increased competition and regulatory action.
“Despite revenue and margin pressures, local mobile operators continue to invest heavily to extend network coverage to serve unconnected communities and accelerate the migration to high-speed 3G/4G mobile broadband networks,” Alex Sinclair, acting director general and CTO of the GSMA, said.
“Mobile technology is also playing a central role in Sub-Saharan Africa by addressing a range of socio-economic challenges, particularly digital and financial inclusion, and enabling access to vital services such as education and healthcare,” he added.