Competition is heating up in the East African mobile sector.
A number of telecommunication service
providers are fighting for market share. Also, manufacturers of mobile handsets
want to maximize sales.
The Two Sides of the Scramble
On one hand, there is the hardware market that is primarily
made up of individuals who are interested in purchasing phones. This segment of
the market is very lucrative because
East Africans love new technology.
When it comes to providing the service that makes the phone
to run, the whole affair has been a European ballgame for a very long period of
time with companies such as Orange and Vodafone dominating the East African
market. However, Asian telecoms such
as Bharti Airtel are apparently making inroads in this territory.
The Hardware Market
East African mobile handset market has for a long time been
dominated by mobile giants such as Nokia and Samsung. That was before the entry
of Techno that apparently changed the rules of the game. On the side of
hardware, the major players are Nokia, Samsung, Tecno, LG and Alcatel.
Tecno is fiercely expanding its market share as a result of
its aggressive strategies. To gain a competitive advantage, this firm has set
up plants in Africa. It is a Chinese firm that produces mobile phones strictly
for Africa.
For a long time, Nokia
was the champion when it came to sales of feature phones. The company that
is doing very well in the smart phone business is Samsung. Apparently, a good percentage of East Africans love
Samsung phones because they are quite innovative.
Competition in the Telecoms Sector
Vodafone (A UK telecoms firm) has a strong footing in the
region controlling a huge chunk of the Kenyan telecommunication sector and is
the company behind the award winning mobile money transfer service called
M-Pesa. The French telecommunication company-Orange has not been left behind.
South African based MTN is also making inroads in this region of the world.
Indian and Chinese telecommunications companies have of late
been focusing on east Africa due to the raw potential of the mobile market of
east Africa.
Global economic crunch slowed down the investments of
European telecom companies in the region. On the other hand, Asian service
providers can easily lower communication costs, which are making their market
share to expand rapidly.
These Scramble Benefits Consumers
The ultimate winner when it comes to this cutthroat competition
that is characterizing the East African mobile phone market is the consumer on
the ground. As the various market players fight to have the biggest market
share in this region of the world, a price war will definitely ensue. At the
end of the day, due to prevailing price cuts, consumers end up getting affordable
products.
It takes innovation and creativity to thrive in any competitive
market. These qualities are what many manufacturers are embracing and the
resultant products are therefore items that will best address the needs and
tastes of East Africans.
East African mobile phone market has regulatory and
political risks. However, it remains indisputably profitable that is why it is
the focus of some of the biggest companies in the world.