Telecom
Africa’s Smartphone Market Suffers Sharp Fall in Q3 2022
Newly released data from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows that Africa’s overall mobile phone market suffered a year-on-year (YoY) decline of 19.9% in Q3 2022 to total 42.2 million units. The feature phone market was down 20.1% YoY to 24.4 million units, while smartphone shipments declined 19.8% to 17.8 million units, which represents a very low quarterly smartphone volume for the continent.
All of Africa’s smartphone markets experienced YoY declines in Q3 2022, with the two major markets of South Africa and Nigeria falling 16.2% and 21.1%, respectively.
“The declines seen across the continent were caused by an overall slow economy, high inflation rates, higher dollar exchange rates, and the increasing cost of living,” says Taher Abdel-Hameed, a senior research analyst at IDC. “All of these factors contributed to a slowdown in demand, which in turn forced most of vendors to cut their shipments into African markets.”
Egypt’s smartphone market declined 73.4% YoY due to the introduction of government regulations around imports. “The Egyptian government has introduced several restrictions on mobile phone imports,” says Abdel-Hameed.
“These restrictions — which include requirements for all import payments to be conducted via letters of credit (LCs) and for all LCs to be approved by the central bank, with limited approvals granted so far — have caused a huge dip in the market.”
Transsion brands (Tecno, Infinix, and Itel) continued to lead Africa’s smartphone market in Q3 2022, with a combined unit share of 47.4%, followed by Samsung and Xiaomi with respective shares of 25.9% and 6.4%. Transsion brands also dominated the feature phone market, with a combined unit share of 79.1%, followed by Nokia (6.1%).
The low-end price bands (less than $200) continued to dominate Africa’s smartphone market in Q3 2022, accounting for 83.6% share of shipments. The major increase versus Q3 2021 was seen within the $100 to $200 price range. The midrange price band ($200 to $400) maintained its position in the rankings, suffering a slight decline in share from 12.8% in Q3 2021 to 11.6% in Q3 2022.
Looking ahead, IDC expects the African smartphone market to grow 8.8% YoY in unit terms in 2023. “While 2022 has been a year of downturn in the African smartphone market, especially with Egypt undergoing a challenging period, a return to growth is expected in 2023,” says Ramazan Yavuz, a senior research manager at IDC.
“This growth will be spurred by a recovery in the Egyptian market and an influx of more affordable models to offset declining consumer disposable income in most countries across the region.”
Telecom
Celebrating African Creativity: Made by Africa, Loved by the World’ Returns for Its Fifth Year
The “Made by Africa, Loved by the World” campaign is back for its fifth year, celebrating African creativity and global influence. This year’s theme, “Where Culture Meets Connection,” highlights how social media fosters conversations around cultural moments worldwide.
The campaign features three cinematic films premiering on the Meta Africa page, showcasing the groundbreaking work and personal stories of six dynamic African creatives.
These artists, from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, represent diverse disciplines, including rap, animation, dance, photography, fashion, and videography.
Here are some of the featured talents:
- Ladipoe (Nigeria) – A BET-nominated rapper known for blending global hip-hop with African rhythms.
- Fatboy Animations (Kenya) – An animation studio founded by Michael Muthiga, recognized by Forbes for its original African storytelling.
- Lisa Quama (Ghana) – A dancer who gained fame after appearing in Beyoncé’s “Already” music video.
- Gilbert Asante (Ghana) – A photographer and creative director featured in GQ and Glam Africa.
- David Tlale (South Africa) – A fashion designer whose bold designs have been showcased at major fashion events, including the Met Gala.
- Ofentse Mwase (South Africa) – A filmmaker with over 24 international awards for his unique visual storytelling.
Kezia Anim-Addo, Communications Director for Africa, Middle East & Turkey, emphasized that the campaign not only celebrates individual success stories but also showcases how culture and social media drive meaningful connections and inspiration.
Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has raised the alarm over a diesel supply crisis caused by an ongoing strike by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
Mr Tony Emoekpere, president, ATCON in a statement said that the fuel supply disruption is critically affecting telecom base stations, pushing them to the brink of a shutdown and threatening millions of mobile and internet users in the region.
“This strike, which stems from the persistent harassment of tanker and petroleum product drivers by police officers in Lagos State, has effectively halted all truck loading operations and fuel movements,” Emoekpere stated.
He explained that diesel supply to telecom infrastructure has been severely impacted, leaving critical sites with dangerously low fuel levels.
According to him, if urgent measures are not taken, the situation could escalate into a full-blown network blackout, disrupting essential services, including mobile and internet access, business operations, emergency response systems, and daily communications.
ATCON has called on the governors of Lagos and Ogun states to intervene immediately by facilitating the release of diesel from depots to telecom operators to prevent further deterioration of the situation.
“This is not just a telecom issue—it is a national emergency that could cripple economic activities and compromise public safety,” Emoekpere stressed.
The association also appealed to security agencies and petroleum unions to resolve the crisis swiftly to safeguard Nigeria’s connectivity and economic stability.
ATCON emphasised that a prolonged disruption in fuel supply to telecom infrastructure could have far-reaching consequences for both businesses and individuals who rely on stable communication networks for daily operations.
In 2023, Nigerians spent a total of about ₦5.3 trillion on telecommunications services, which includes calls, data, SMS, and other telecom services, according to the Leadership.
Specifically for voice calls, Nigerians made approximately 408.5 billion minutes of local calls, generating around ₦3.28 trillion from outgoing calls and ₦3.23 trillion from incoming calls, totaling about ₦6.51 trillion in call-related revenue according to projections based on 2023 call volumes and tariff data.
However, the ₦5.3 trillion figure represents the overall telecom sector revenue, with voice calls being a major component but also including data and other services.
For individual spending, MTN subscribers spent an average of ₦2,508 monthly on voice calls in 2023, showing a 14.4% increase from 2022, while Airtel customers spent about ₦1,694 monthly on voice calls.
Total telecom spending (calls, data, SMS, etc.): ₦5.3 trillion in 2023
Estimated revenue from voice calls alone: around ₦6.5 trillion based on call minutes and tariffs
Average monthly spending on calls per subscriber: ₦1,694 to ₦2,508 depending on the network
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