Nigeria on Brink of China Device Explosion

The forecast early in the year didn’t particularly look robust; unlike the previous year (2010) the Nigerian mobile market recorded a 19.4 per cent growth, coming into 2012 with a misery 9 per cent growth in the last quarter of 2011 looked rather bleak.
The challenges faced by the the largest mobile market (by subscription) in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region could melt the faint hearted investor.
Without accurate data on critical market information like equipment status, device sales figures and (even) 3G subscriber numbers, it is very difficult to give an accurate analytical view of the Nigerian mobile market.
The challenges are even further fuelled by recent terrorists’ activities in parts of the country, especially in the Northern region where Islamist separatist movement, Boko Haram operate. Equipment are vandalized at random and multiple taxation adds to the burden.
With active subscription base now in excess of 102 million and broadband customers over 50 million, the Nigerian market is still open for prospective operators.
Only recently, Apple made exploratory moves to enter a market they long neglected, giving competitions like Blackberry, Nokia and Samsung free reign. Apple’s official entry into the market will ignite competition as several Nigerians already own an Apple device through the grey market.
But it appears it’s the Chinese that are coming in as the major beneficiaries of this free-for-all market.
The Chinese who first entered the market through unofficial channels now appear to be taking over from the established vendors like Nokia and Samsung.
Early this year, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), had reasons to shut down several vendor shops in Lagos for selling non-approved type devices.
But that appears now only a tonic to ginger up the China device vendors as they promptly got approvals from the regulator and now do their businesses unmolested.
Most critically, the Chinese understand the market better than their western vendors.
Nigerians love good devices, and when they come cheap, its better. Only few really could afford the retail cost of an iPhone or iPad from Apple which could range between N90, 000 (approximately $562) to N102, 000 (approx. $637) at the minimum.
Several of the vendors from China who now operate as genuine OEMs in Nigeria offer affordable devices that enable subscribers browse the internet on the go.
For as low as N1, 500 (approx. $9) one can purchase a genuine China OEM device than enables internet access, whereas you can get a Nokia type device that enables internet access starting from N9, 000.
The Chinese vendors have also perfected the concept of taking the devices to the consumers as they operate from mobile vans and stop at strategic locations to attract buyers.
One sales lady from G-Tide gladly said business has been moving quite well since they moved out of the shop to the streets.
 They play loud music to the admiration of their customers, despite a law against such in Lagos.
Their operations seem to have the blessing of the local council as officials chase other street vendors, but left them unmolested.
Michael Badaru, a university graduate who recently completed his mandatory one year national service said the Chinese devices are welcomed. He noted that only few rich individuals and those working with reputable companies who earn high salaries can afford the established phones.
“There are very few genuine Nigerians that can afford Android or iPhone…and what I really need in a mobile phone is to make calls and possibly, check my email or read some international news. But seriously speaking, there are some phones these people sell that give you near exactly what you’d need in a Blackberry,” said Badaru.
All leading mobile operators also go to the Chinese market to have specific branded cheap phones for their customers to curb the free reign of the open market vendors.
A trend that was initially started by the CDMA operators now see the leading GSM operators offer cheap phones for as low as N1, 500 (CDMA) and N4, 500 (GSM).
A driving force for these Chinese brands is their two SIM cards capabilities.
The challenge faced by operators’ means drop-call rate is quite high and because the average Nigerian wants to stay connected without interruption, he requires a minimum of two service providers to stay in touch.
Nokia and Korea’s Samsung have also caught the dual SIM card bug, but their devices hardly match the China brands as most of them lack internet capabilities.
A Nokia dual-SIM phone goes for about N5, 000 but without internet access, whereas a Techno phone for less that amount enables internet access.
Nigeria’s 50 million plus broadband customers are made up largely of mobile phone users.
The high cost of PCs means that most Nigerians access internet only by shared facilities at their work places, schools or cyber café. But the cyber café option is nolonger fashionable as security operatives sometimes sniff for fraudsters inconveniencing genuine customers in the process.
The arrival of three submarine cable systems have hardly had any soothing effect on broadband intake, although it is expected that things might smoothen up as the operators tackle infrastructural defects in the system.  
But for the generality of the Nigerian public, without a PC or smartphone from any of the known global brands, the China phones are their real genuine step to a smartphone and the internet.