Scramble For East African Mobile Market

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.