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.

Popularity of Tecno Phones in East Africa

With every passing day, Tecno phones are becoming more popular in East Africa. There are very ubiquitous items as a result of their low price point and their apparent above average functionality. The East African market is largely price sensitive. Many people are looking at how they can save the most while being able to enjoy modern day conveniences such as smart phones.

Mid Range and Low End Smart phones from Tecno

This company is presently focused on producing products for the average consumer. Smart phones that retail for less than $100 yet have a host of powerful features are becoming the fad in East Africa. It all started with the IDEOS Huawei phone that was targeted to the market segment wishing to enjoy smart phones at highly affordable prices.

The story of IDEOs in East Africa is an interesting one. It started as a popular brand however with subsequent releases it became unpopular due to a failure on the side of the company to innovate. As new Smartphone users got used to IDEOS phone, they began to realize the benefits and functionality of smart phones and they subsequently desired something better and were ready to pay for a superior product. IDEOS team failed to realize this and they continued to produce basic products that could no longer serve the needs of those who were already exposed to smart phones but were ideal for people who have never used smart phones before.

Tecno Will Not Suffer the Fate of IDEOS as a Result of Innovation

Innovation is the aspect behind all highly successful brands in the world. With every new techno release, someone can see the raw innovation behind the product. This company has invested heavily in establishing the needs of the market and subsequently developing products that can best address such desires.

Techno Phones Have Been Built For Africa

The requirements of the East African consumer are usually taken into account when making a Tecno phone. The dynamics in this region of the world are not the same as those that characterize day to day life in the west.  East Africa has unique challenges that have to be considered during the process of making a phone.

Popular Techno Makes So Far

The most popular make ever to be released from the Tecno stable into the East African market has to be the Tecno N3. It received good reviews and many units were sold. This pushed the morale of the Tecno team to new levels, they were encouraged to break the limitations of imagination and subsequently produce Tecno Phantom F7 that is just as good as the Galaxy S 111 but retails at half the price of the Galaxy. The F7 is selling not only in East Africa but also in other regions of Africa. It has been very popular in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Nigeria.

Unlike IDEOS, it seems Tecno is here to stay. These Qualcomm powered phones will not disappoint. They are built using state of the art technologies and they also have impressive exteriors.

SIM Card Registration in East Africa

Mid 2012 was the regional deadline for all SIM cards to be registered. This deadline has been revised time and again by member states of the EAC as a result of laxity on the side of telecom companies.

SIM Card registration in East Africa has been a major issue of late. This can partly be attributed to the desire to curb crimes. Network operators are charged with registering SIM cards.

In most East African countries, SIM cards that have not been registered are usually deactivated by the network operators. The process of SIM card registration has been overhauled time and again.

More data to be captured during registration

Owners of mobile phones in East Africa will be required to submit more data during the registration process for the purpose of facilitating more accuracy on the side of the network operators.

Unregistered SIM cards are usually deactivated

 Due to the desire to prevent fraudulent acts, the government usually deactivates all the SIM cards that have not been properly registered with the authorities.

Transformational Impact of Mobile Phone Technology in East Africa

Mobile phone technology has transformed East Africa in leaps and bounds. Sectors that have been positively affected include Agriculture, trade, health, financial services, government, education and ICT sector.  The development landscape of East Africa is slowly being transformed by mobile phones. New sectors of the economy that were underperforming have been given a new lease of life. What is needed at the present moment is a radical increase in these innovations so as to achieve more economic and social developments.

Innovative Mobile Phone Solutions Are Driving Entrepreneurship

Over the last few years, many startups have arisen in East Africa due to the need to enable the facilitation of new mobile technologies. One of such firms is Tangazo letu that facilitates Lipa na M-Pesa that is an initiative of leading Kenyan mobile phone company (Safaricom), in an effort to facilitate mobile commerce.

Job Creation

The mobile phone sector has employed many people directly and indirectly. There are professionals who have been employed directly by the leading networks for the purpose of facilitating day to day operation of such companies. Such professionals include technicians, accountants, programmers, drivers and managers among others. Also, indirect employment is the case in this sector. There are those who been employed by agencies that are in charge of facilitating mobile money services of mobile service providers.

Changing lives

Mobile phone technology has changed many lives in East Africa. It has facilitated vital communications that has ended up saving lives. Mobile money transfer services have saved many East Africans the inconvenience of having to deal with physical money.

People who are overseas can be able to send money to their relatives purely because of mobile money. Therefore, those who have been lucky to find employment in US, UK and other developed countries can be able to support their relatives on a day to day basis due to this technological development.

Ready access to information

With a mobile phone that is connected to the internet, different kinds of information can be accessed with the click of a button. The fact that this technology avails useful information to millions of East Africans on a daily basis indicates its transformational nature in this region of the world. People need relevant facts so that they can be able to make day to day decisions in the best manner possible.

Agricultural Impacts

The agricultural sector has benefited in a number of ways from mobile technology. Kilimo Salama program that is powered by a mobile payment gateway in Kenya has enabled farmers to subscribe to crop insurance.

Trade Facilitation

Mobile payment systems have facilitated trade in a number of ways. They have accelerated the pace of mobile commerce in East Africa because people can easily buy and sell from their mobile phones. On the other hand, merchants can receive cash from buyers in a safe manner.

East Africa's Most Popular Nokia Mobile Feature Phones through the Years

Feature phones have been hugely popular in East Africa over the last decade. However, starting 2013, Smartphone sales have started to outnumber those of feature phones in east Africa.

Of all the brands of feature phones, no one has had much sway in the region like the Nokia brand. The just mentioned has been synonymous with the word mobile phone in most parts of Africa. 

Most East Africans Have Owned Nokia Feature Phones

Any East African who has owned a mobile phone over the last 10-15 years has definitely owned a Nokia feature phone.

When Did Nokia Stop Being Popular

In recent times, Samsung and other OEMs are slowly eating the market share of Nokia. This can partly be attributed to the lack of innovation on the side of Nokia. (They got stuck with the era of feature phones when the smart phone revolution was on the doorstep of Africa.) In recent times, Nokia Corporation has also started to produce smart phones.

Nokia Name Set To Disappear Globally

The Nokia name may end up disappearing from the global conscience because Nokia devices division was sold to Microsoft in September 2013.

Bunch of Nokia Devices That Have Proven To Be Very Popular In East Africa

They include:

Nokia 1100

 Nokia 3310

Nokia 5110

Nokia C1-01

Nokia N72

Nokia N95

Nokia X2-01

How Mobile Technology Can Help Fight Hunger in East Africa

The answer to the problem of hunger in East Africa can be the proper harnessing of mobile technology for the purpose of preventing disasters and helping people recover from disasters.

Some parts of East Africa are usually affected by droughts and floods time and again which result to hunger.

Preventing Disasters

Disasters can be prevented if people get the right information at the right time. It is purely an issue of timing.

• Mobile phones facilitate the timely dispensation of information. Luckily, many people in East Africa have access to mobile phones.

•   People need to be informed about weather forecasts so that they can know if a dry spell is in the near future and subsequently make the necessary arrangements.  

•  If humanitarian organizations properly embrace technology and team up with East African telecoms, it will be easy to dispense much needed information in a timely manner.

Preventing Hunger by Facilitating Better Access to Food

One of the ways to make a person to have better access to food is by making him to have money. 

Money is the answer to many problems in the world.

Once someone has the necessary cash in the pocket, he can move from a hunger stricken region to a more endowed area because he has cash.

Most of the people, who live in areas that are constantly affected by dry spells, usually have a lot of animals during the good seasons which end up being destroyed during the dry spell. If such individuals get information from their mobile phones about an upcoming dry spell, they make arrangements to sell their animals.

Because of mobile phone technology, it will be possible for a person in a rural area to know the amount of cash he can get by selling an animal, therefore he will not be conned by a middleman and he will end up with a lot of money in the pocket that can make him to be in a position to facilitate future food security for himself and his family.

Information East Africans Living In Arid Areas Need So That They Can Fight Hunger

• The different types  of drought resistant crops
• Where to sell produce for a profit

•  How to prepare for a dry spell

• When a dry spell will come

All that information can be obtained easily if someone has a mobile phone that is connected to the internet and there is a stable mobile phone network in the region in question.

How Mobile Phone Technology Can Help People Recover From Disasters

Some disasters are simple unpreventable therefore there is need for measures that will facilitate disaster recovery.

Mobile Phone Donations

Because East Africa has a proper mobile money transfer infrastructure, it is easy to solicit donations via mobile phones. A lot of money was raised via mobile phones donations by Kenyans to help fellow Kenyans who were affected by 2012 drought as part of the Kenyans for Kenya Initiative.

Mobile Technology: An East African Perspective

In East Africa, Kenya is leading in terms of mobile usage standing at 67.2% mobile penetration rate. Close to 7 in every 10 Kenyans owns and uses a mobile phone on a daily basis. The peculiar calling habit of Kenyans was the subject of a joke by Michael Joseph, former CEO of one of the biggest telecoms in the region (Safaricom.)

The mobile penetration of Tanzania stands at 56%. Tanzania is also doing well when it comes to advancements in Mobile technology. It was one of the first countries in the region to have 4G internet. Countries lagging behind in this area include Rwanda and Uganda.

In Kenya, there are 26 million mobile subscribers as at 2013. The figure for Tanzania is 23 million subscribers while Uganda has 12 million mobile users. 

Because of the popularity of mobile phones in East Africa, Telecoms are registering few fixed lines as compared to the formative years. Fixed lines in Kenya as at 2013 do not exceed 400,000. This scenario is replicated across the region with Tanzania have less than 200,000 fixed line subscribers.

Phone Usage

Someone can own a phone yet he does not use it much. Research indicates that a good percentage of East Africans are constantly on the phone. As a matter of fact, mobile technology has totally revolutionized this part of the world. Kenya has the highest number of active mobile phone uses.

Who Sends More Text Messages?

Tanzanians send more text messages compared to Kenyans and Ugandans.

What do Kenyans Exactly Use Their Phones For?

Kenyans make the highest number of telephone calls in the region. Also, Kenyan telecoms recorded the highest number of mobile money transactions. Actually, the first mobile money transfer service in Africa(M-Pesa) is a brainchild of a Kenyan. This payment transfer model has been replicated across the world including in the Middle East.

Cheapest and Expensive Call Rates

It is expensive to make a phone call in Uganda. The average call tariff of Uganda is $ 0.08 per minute, in Kenya and Uganda, the average tariff is $0.04 per minute which represents half the cost of making a telephone call in Uganda.