Access to mobile internet has always been critical, especially to mobile-first markets, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, providing several positive outcomes as well as societal and economic benefits. Connection and communication with friends and family, information through a variety of sources and of course, financial inclusion through several mobile solutions are just a few benefits that the remote population of the region could enjoy through mobile services. But now, with the added challenge of the pandemic, the issue of accessibility has been brought to the fore as the present global climate has shown that digital connectedness can be a lifeline for people in such unprecedented times.

Especially for Sub-Saharan Africa, Covid-19 showed why the whole mobile industry must continue to invest and do more to improve access to and understanding of the internet for every citizen.

Let’s take a look at some numbers. Despite the progress that the region has done to the adoption of mobile internet the vast majority of the population remains offline. According to GSMA, at the end of 2019, 272 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa were connected to the mobile internet, an increase of 34 million on 2018. On the other hand, nearly 800 million people are unable to access the internet, meaning they do not enjoy the benefits of connectivity and they are excluded from the budding digital economy in the region.

Lack of broadband connectivity in the region is not just about the high cost of smartphones or data, relative to average income levels. Of course, they remain a barrier, although there are several mobile solutions (such as those from Channel VAS) providing funding to purchase a smartphone. However, it seems that the most significant barrier to mobile internet adoption are the limited digital skills among rural and less literate populations. In fact, a recent study showed that among those who are aware of mobile internet, a lack of literacy and digital skills was the biggest perceived barrier to adoption across regions, with 34{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of people highlighting this as the reason for not coming online.

Closing this digital divide is essential to delivering transformational social and economic opportunities to underserved communities. Adoption of a scaled approach and wider collaboration are some of the critical ones to grow an understanding of mobile internet and ultimately result in usage.

Artykuł It’s urgent to close the connectivity gap in Sub-Saharan Africa pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

In Africa mobile broadband is the main way that people access the internet. However, despite major advances in mobile connectivity, Africa’s mobile broadband penetration rate is still the lowest worldwide. Performance is mainly due to the high cost of services and mobile phones.

According to a recent survey, in Africa on average, 1 GB of mobile data costs 8{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of monthly income, well above the “1 for 2” affordability threshold, where 1 GB of mobile data should cost no more than two percent of the average income. The relatively high costs of getting online also include the cost of purchasing a mobile device. In 2018, the median cost of an entry-level internet-enabled device in Africa was 40{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of monthly income, and the mean average was 62{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of monthly income. For the poorest 20{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of the population, the average cost of a device in Sub-Saharan Africa was 375{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of monthly income in 2018.

Sub-Saharan Africa is also the region that faces the greatest challenge in terms of the affordability of an entry-level mobile device (the cheapest device available that supports at least basic internet access).

The combination of expensive entry-level mobile data plans and entry-level devices keeps most people in the region offline. For example, in an A4AI analysis using mobile broadband prices from 60 low- and middle-income countries, when the price of a hypothetical, low-cost smartphone ($ 48) was added to that of a 500 MB broadband plan, in almost all countries the number of people who could afford both a broadband plan and a low-cost smartphone fell on average by 20{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}.

An additional concern is the mobile gender gap in mobile internet use. In Sub-Saharan Africa, this gap is estimated to be 41{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}, which we may observe to persist in the future, due to the underlying gender wage gap in almost all countries.

In order to improve device affordability, in a short timeframe, analysts propose several initiatives:

• New Business Models to Lower Device Costs – To address both the affordability challenge and the need for a better user experience, some device manufacturers and their partners have developed smartfeature phones. These devices have a similar form and look to a feature phone but include hardware and operating systems that can support broadband internet access and use similar to smartphones. As they are much cheaper than smartphones they can provide a bridge to the future adoption of smartphones and internet services.
• Public Policy Impacts on Mobile Device Costs – Governments could launch programs that focus on subsidizing mobile devices on the continent, especially for women, using resources from universal service and access funds (USAFs). In addition, governments should also assess existing policies, particularly with regard to taxation.

Service providers could also play a supportive role. Through fully managed handset financing programs, such as Channel VAS’s handset loans, acquisition of an internet enabled device is affordable for more people. Thus, even low income population could be part of the digital highways.

Artykuł The challenge of affordability of devices in Africa pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

The coming years are expected to be more exciting as smartphone’s growth will continue to rise even more explosively. Smartphones accounted for 39{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of mobile connections in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2018, forecast to increase to two thirds (66{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}) of connections by 2025, as analysts raise their bets, estimating that by this year total number of smartphone connections will reach 700 million.

Source: The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2019, GSMA

Driving force of this change will be youth population. “A new generation of youthful ‘digital natives’ across Sub-Saharan Africa are set to fuel customer growth and drive adoption of new mobile services that are empowering lives and transforming businesses” said Akinwale Goodluck, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, GSMA.

Key driver of smartphone adoption is the growth of entry-level devices at affordable prices, often from more price-focused brands. Besides prices, key role to the affordability of smartphones will play services such as handset loans, a sector where Channel VAS is well positioned, offering a fully managed handset financing program to mobile network operators.

Mobile Internet adoption will reach 483 million

Though slightly below the figures above, mobile internet adoption will continue to grow dramatically in the coming years. At the end of 2018, 239 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa were connected to the mobile internet, an increase of 35 million on the previous year. According to analysts’ estimations the number of connections will more than double in the coming years; from 239 million in 2018 they will reach 483 million in 2025. This means that nearly 40{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of the population will be mobile internet subscribers, while 245 million people 245 across the region will start using the mobile internet for the first time.

Four primary enablers of digital inclusion will play a critical role: Infrastructure, affordability, consumer readiness and availability of content/services. During 2018, there was a significant progress in the infrastructure and availability of content/services, which recorded the highest rises as a result of significant investments in 3G and 4G network expansion and the increasing availability of locally relevant online content. If these enablers continue to improve over the next few years, mobile internet adoption will meet analysts’ expectations.

Artykuł Smartphone adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa is rising really fast pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

Over the years, especially during the last decade, we have seen a significant progress in the developing world. But despite this progress a key challenge still remains. Gender gap in mobile ownership is not closing. A recent report from GSMA raises the gap in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to 10{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}, which translates into 197 million fewer women than men owning a mobile phone.

Findings from this report shows us that over 250 million more women now own a mobile phone in LMICs than in 2014. Despite the growth in connectivity, analysts note that women are still being left behind. According to the report, mobile gender gap varies by region and country but is widest in South Asia where women are 28{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} less likely than men to own a mobile device, while in Sub-Saharan Africa rate in mobile ownership’s gender gap is 15{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}.

The mobile gender gap extends beyond just ownership. Even among mobile owners, there is a gender gap in the use of mobile services, which widens further for mobile internet-based services. Access to mobile internet has been growing, with a billion new mobile internet subscribers in LMICs since 2014. However, mobile internet penetration is still much lower than mobile ownership. For instance, 80{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of women in LMICs own a mobile phone, compared to 48{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} who use mobile internet. Also, despite growing uptake of mobile internet in LMICs, women in these markets are 23 per cent less likely than men to use it. This means that across LMICs, 313 million fewer women than men use mobile internet.

According to the report, affordability, particularly of handset is the top barrier to mobile ownership. Channel VAS has recognized affordability as a key barrier for digital inclusion, providing solutions such as handset loans, making the acquisition of a device more affordable.

Literacy and digital skills, a perceived lack of relevance, and safety and security concerns are also important barriers to mobile ownership and mobile internet use for women.

For GSMA, closing the gender gaps in mobile ownership and usage represents an important commercial opportunity for the mobile industry. It is estimated that If mobile operators could close these gender gaps in low- and middle-income countries by 2023, this would provide an additional $140 billion in revenue to the mobile industry over the next five years. For the economies of these countries, closing the gender gap in mobile internet use across could add $700 billion in GDP growth (representing an additional 0.7 per cent of GDP growth) until 2023.

Artykuł Mobile gender gap still persists and we should address it pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

The meeting brought together more than 3,000 leaders from business, government, civil society, academia, arts and culture, and media, as well as the foremost experts and young leaders from all over the world. Convening under the theme, “Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, the purpose of the meeting was to identify new models for peace, inclusiveness and sustainability to suit a world where further global integration is inevitable and where existing models of global governance struggle to foster concerted action among the world’s powers.

During WEF 2019, Bassim Haidar gave several interviews to top-tier media both TV and online, such as Fox Business, DW or Business Insider. As a businessman who knows how things work in emerging markets, Mr. Haidar shared his views about the key role that access to technology can play in these regions and of course what it takes to do business.

According to Bassim Haidar, the secret of success for doing business in African countries is individualized knowledge of the market and localized engagement. During his interview to DW he emphasized on the need of any western company to physically come and understand local rules as well as the culture in Africa. He also warned European and all industrialized countries that if they won’t change their approach they will lose to China every time. “You can’t come and apply certain characteristics like a mathematical formula. You need to go there and do your best” he concluded.

On the other hand, in his interview for FOX Business News, Bassim Haidar talked about the key issue of underdeveloped regions: access to technology and efforts to help consumers in emerging markets get smartphones as well as access to mobile financial services. He shared Channel VAS’ great success of lending services, providing loans of up to 200-300 dollars to unbanked population. “It’s working brilliantly with 97{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} recovery rate” he noted. Pakistan and several countries of Western Africa are those where he sees more growth, while in Latin America the demand is bigger than he expected. “Latin America is extremely hungry, we didn’t expect to be like that and is a huge growth market for us” he added. For him it is extremely significant that governments in these regions now recognize the importance of those services and are more open to investments in order to get people to digital highways.

Best opportunities are in the East

At his interview to Business Insider, Bassim Haidar expressed his opinion that doing business in the East is a far more intriguing option than the West. Look what’s happening in the US and Europe,” Mr. Haidar said. “Everything is becoming fragmented, and new alliances are being created. World power is shifting to the East.” Besides China, he expects India to leapfrog the UK and France in terms of gross domestic product, making it the world’s third-largest economy. He’s also quite fond of Nigeria, while he sees major opportunities in Pakistan and Ethiopia. According to him, openness for business is the through line connecting these countries. It’s a new attitude, and one he said “reflects vast growth potential in these emerging nations”.

But the time in Davos was productively spent with important meetings, as Bassim Haidar had the opportunity to join the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, to a business breakfast and exchange ideas on several important topics.

He also found the time for a relaxed talk with important public figures like the famous artist and social entrepreneur will.i.am during one of the evening events of World Economic Forum.

With Channel VAS constantly expanding to new territories, attracting more investors and bringing new and innovative services that will disrupt the way people in emerging markets can be banked, 2019 looks like it’s going to be the brightest year yet for the company.

Main Photo: Copyright by World Economic Forum / Mattias Nutt

Artykuł Bassim Haidar at Davos’ World Economic Forum: Western world should change the approach towards Africa pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

A recent article at entrepreneur.com shows us that low unemployment rate characteristic for most developing countries is another reason which led to the massive adoption of fintech services and especially alternative lending services.

According to this article, the informal employment sector, which official GDP does not reflect, holds a significant share in the economies of developing countries. “In some countries, more than 50 per cent of the working population are to some extent involved in the informal sector. The reason is that this kind of income is usually additional to the earnings at the official place. Workers can produce a particular product to be counted in official GDP but have small official wages and the rest paid in an envelope.”

The article notes the low unemployment rates of many emerging markets in Southeast Asia, which to some extend can be attributed to the utter lack of unemployment benefits available. “That’s what makes people ready for any job to satisfy the need in finance. As a result, there is a situation when nearly all the population is employed, many of them have official jobs and earnings but low that make them seek additional work and source of income”.

Until now banks have used traditional methods to principally estimate borrower’s financial reliability and credit history. They ask for the confirmation of the official income and address credit bureaus for information about the applicant’s repayment discipline. But these methods have proven ineffective for a significant part of the population which faces labor conditions as those described above. Official documents cannot provide a “full picture” about borrower’s reliability, that’s why a lot of people become simply considered as insolvent and cannot access finance.

On the other hand, fintech companies use a much different approach. They use AI, big data and machine learning, focusing on the borrowers’ digital footprints. Scoring programs are looking for hundreds points of data about the person on the Internet and as a result of the analysis of many unstructured and scattered pieces of this information, companies understand the probability of debt repayment. That’s why they are able to provide unique micro and nano finance solutions (as those provided by Channel VAS) “boosting financial inclusion and accelerating subsequent economic growth by increasing the penetration of financial products into people’s lives”.

Artykuł Informal Employment and Alternative Lending from fintech services pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

Fintech is transforming the industry and will continue to do so as the industry seems “thirsty” for innovation. This is expected to lead to another year of significant growth due to new products or technologies which in turn are expected to improve the lives of million people worldwide.

Fintech is a global phenomenon, yet its development is not linear and the spearhead varies from region to region. It’s apparent there are differences with models and adoption between the western world and emerging markets, due to the specific needs of these regions. In emerging markets fintech companies cannot rely on the same payments and banking infrastructure that exists in developed markets. The broad availability of cloud computing, machine learning, and big data services (a field where Channel VAS is very well positioned) have allowed companies to tackle these challenges in a much more cost effective way. Based on big data analysis that relies on hundreds of data points per customer to analyze financial behavior these products provide micro and nano finance solutions, supporting financial inclusion for all. Among them, handset loans play a crucial role, providing low income population with the ability to acquire a smartphone, which is the necessary tool for fintech growth. It’s safe to say that in the years to come these fintech services will continue to grow, due to massive unbanked population of Africa, Middle East, Latin America and Asia.

At the dawn of 2019 many analysts are making their predictions of what will happen during the next months in the field of fintech worldwide. Let’s see five main trends of fintech market according to the analysts of G2 Ground.

Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation. Analysts predict that Robotic Process Automation software will be used in 75{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of financial services institutions by the end of the year due to the increase of connected devices and

tools to process that data are driving the creation of personalized products based on an individual’s data sets. This makes the need for big data analytics and a profiling platform, like the one Channel VAS is providing, a major game changer in the fintech field.

Global growth of mobile payments. The worldwide volume of mobile payments is expected to grow by 60{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} over the next two years, while in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile growth will reach 75{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} during the same period.

Fintech App Development. Analysts predict that 75{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of large banks will be actively engaged in supporting fintech application development through open banking. In this field Europe is expected to play a leading role, due to Payment Services Directive 2.0 (PSD2), a European Union regulatory directive designed to increase competition within the European payments industry.

Fintech Companies Become the Norm. Fintech companies will shift from disruptors to partners in the financial services industry, to be treated as equals in the field by their traditional counterparts, creating mutually beneficial partnerships.

Regulatory technology. Regulatory technology (regtech) investment in the financial services sector will increase 500{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} by 2020, from $10.6 billion in 2017 to more than $53 billion.

All the above trends strongly showcase the future of mobile financial services and micro/nano loans is strong, especially combined with the evolution of handset loan schemes that allow people to be easily included financially. The future indeed looks bright!

Artykuł Fintech: what to expect in 2019 pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

At the end of 2018, Channel VAS had an addressable base close to 700 million mobile subscribers that were using our services while its operations accounted for $3 billion of the market’s total $100 billion value. During the year its footprint reached more than 30 countries globally, working with 27 mobile network operators, in regions like the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, Europe and of course Africa.

Channel VAS’ rapid expansion, solid business model and of course its potential were among the main criteria that led to last November’s strategic partnership in which Ethos, a leading South African investment company agreed on investing the amount of about $50 million USD in our firm. An investment which will further support the expansion of rapidly growing Channel VAS’ footprint globally, while at the same time opening the Mobile Financial sector to Ethos.

Present at the most significant events of mobile sector

Channel VAS’ significant role on the development of mobile ecosystem of emerging markets and specifically the fintech sector was recognized by its presence at the most significant events, both global and regional. For another year, Channel VAS was present at the biggest meeting point of the year, the Mobile World Congress, which was held last February, where it showed its full portfolio of fintech services, like micro and nano cash loans, handset loans and airtime/data loans. A month earlier, our founder and CEO, Bassim Haidar was among several prestigious businessmen who were invited at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he shared his views and experience about the key role technology plays in Africa. On the occasion of the Forum in Davos, Bassim Haidar had several meetings with global leaders, such as the German Chancellor Angela Merkel or Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, in which he discussed investment opportunities in Africa.

Among the highlights of Channel VAS’ strong presence at the significant regional events of the year were the keynote speeches of Bassim Haidar during both GSMA Mobile 360 Series – Africa, held in July in Kigali, Rwanda and Africa Com, which took place in Cape Town, on last November.

Securing our intellectual property

A major step of Channel VAS’ exciting journey during 2018 was our decision to secure our rights on the proprietary technologies that we have first brought to the market. Last summer, Channel VAS Group was granted with exclusive Patents and Intellectual Property rights for its pioneer Airtime Credit and Data Credit products and services, something which was necessary for the protection of our technology innovations and our partners against any infringements or unauthorized efforts from third parties to copy them.

Becoming a global premium fintech and data analytics company was from the very beginning our goal. During 2018 we had made some significant steps but we are just in the middle of our journey. 2019 is already here and we know that we have a lot of work to be done in order to continue to expand our geographical footprint at an even faster pace, bringing financial inclusion to more unbanked and underserved people globally through our innovative services.

Artykuł 2018 was an exciting year for Channel VAS pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

The facts from GSMA report

According to “The Mobile Economy – Latin America and the Caribbean 2018” report smartphone adoption’s growth continues at a regional level with rapid rates. While at the beginning of the decade smartphone adoption was only 5{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}, at the end of 2017 it represented 62{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of total connections and smartphone connections reached 417 million. In the first half of 2018, adoption has increased a further 2 percentage points, reaching 64{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}.

Smartphone adoption is consistently strong across the region and is set to accelerate in key markets including Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Peru. In the region’s largest market, Brazil, smartphone connections stood at 171 million in mid-2018 – 40{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of the region’s total smartphone installed base.

Smartphones represent three quarters of total connections in the country, and are forecast to reach 86{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} by 2025. From a regional perspective, a further 189 million smartphone connections are expected to be added in the period out to 2025, boosting the adoption rate to 78{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}.

Smartphone penetration goes hand in hand with fintech market

While mass-market adoption of smartphones is a relatively recent phenomenon in LatAm, the region has grown to one of the highest rates globally and especially among younger generations. At the same time, mobile financial services meet great demand in the region, due to various reasons, such as the volume of underserved population or the general distruct of banks especially after the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Fintech in Latin America is flourishing with much activity concentrated on segments like payments, lending, personal finance and remittances. Furthermore, services like handset loans lead to multiple benefits. They can push smartphone penetration forward, making the acquisition of a device more affordable and as a result more people can have access to digital highways.

Latin America is another example of emerging markets, where individuals turn to mobile- and digital-first products and services that are better tailored to their circumstances.

However, there is plenty of room for further progress as the region still holds one of the biggest percentages of unbanked population worldwide. According to G2 Ground’s latest report, almost 250 million adults in LatAm (65{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}) remain unbanked.

Both smartphone penetration and fintech in Latin America are not without their challenges and there is still a great deal of work to be done to achieve their goals. One of those challenges is common for both sides. A flexible policy framework designed to provide certainty and predictability, ensuring that companies continue investing in networks and services and that users can access the benefits of digitization.

Artykuł Smartphones’ strong potential in Latin America will give further rise to fintech solutions pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.

Mobile ecosystem is already a significant contributor to country’s economy, as it represents 5.5{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of the country’s total GDP, reaching 21 billion dollars during 2017. Furthermore, it has resulted in the creation of nearly 500,000 direct and indirect jobs.

“Mobile connectivity has opened the door to new digital possibilities and powered the country’s economic development” commented Akinwale Goodluck, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, GSMA, during a recent event held by the association in conjunction with the Nigerian Communications Commission.

Some other key findings of the report are:

• 97,5 million unique mobile subscribers (September 2018)
• 151 million total connections
• 49{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} mobile penetration
• 53 million smartphone connections

A direct and positive impact on the daily lives of Nigerians

According to Μr Goodluck, “mobile connectivity has already improved the welfare of millions of Nigerians”. This is the result of the growing adoption of digital services by government, businesses and consumers.

What’s more important is that mobile connects more Nigerians to the Internet than any other technology. For the majority of Nigerians, mobile broadband is the first and only technology for accessing the internet, enabling better access to health, education and commercial opportunities, amongst other public services. Smartphone adoption has already risen to over 53 million connections, and 49{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of the population are currently connected by mobile technology, compared to less than 1{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} who have a fixed-line connection. On the other hand, 44{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} of mobile subscribers are using 3G technology and only 4{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e} are using 4G, which shows us that the country lags regional peers in 4G adoption. For example, in Angola 4G penetration is 16{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}, while in South Africa is 18{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}.

According to GSMA, Nigeria’s greater potential will come through increased spectrum harmonization and licensing reform. Analysts estimate that if these reforms are applied we will see a massive adoption of mobile broadband and smartphones. They expect an annual growth rate of 36{2b3fe3109f87c6f1c896babd3a2485fbf135a42141067a7771ef7eb1664b998e}, raising smartphone connections to 144 million by 2025. As a result, more advanced services will be enabled and bigger societal impacts will be created.

“The next generation of mobile technology offers huge potential ushering in an era of lightning-fast mobile connectivity and new digital possibilities. It is important, therefore, that Nigeria takes full advantage, fostering inclusive growth and enhancing the productivity and efficiency of the economy” concludes GSMA’s report, calling for government’s and mobile sector’s cooperation. “If policies don’t keep pace with the needs of society and technological innovation, there is a risk that citizens will be left behind and productivity and competitiveness will suffer” said Mr Akinwale Goodluck.

Artykuł Digital economy and financial inclusion call for Nigeria’s policy reform pochodzi z serwisu Optasia.