Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy by GDP, is becoming a massive attraction for both local and international online businesses due to the massive surge in its mobile subscriber base and internet subscription rate, industry observers have said. Nigeria, with over 140 million mobile subscribers, is not just Africa’s largest mobile market but also has one of the world’s largest mobile subscriber markets –offering impressive opportunities primarily in the mobile broadband space, where rapid mobile commerce (m-commerce) uptake is driving market growth.
M-commerce is one of the hottest sectors right now and the industry is finally coming into its own offering more digital channels for e-retailers to reach audiences. The growth of smart phones has also assisted the growth of m-commerce along with improvements in mobile infrastructure in many parts of the country. The International Data Corporation (IDC) recently forecasted Smartphone shipments to emerging economies to reach 1.5 billion by 2017.
“What makes Smartphone growth so amazing is where the growth will be taking place”, said Research Manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team, Ramon Llamas. According to the NCC, in No- vember 2014 the country had over 75 million active internet subscriptions – presenting a huge market for online trade – one that businesses in the country are keen to exploit.
“It’s an exciting time we are seeing in Nigeria today where we are seeing innovative migration from offline to online platform both for businesses, individuals and governments Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs),” says Country Manager, Google Nigeria, Mrs. Juliet Ehimuan Chiazor. Research from Martec International suggests that globally, 4.8 percent of total sales by retail businesses are driven through mobile devices, a figure that equates to half of all online sales – a clear indication that mobility has become a significant and growing trend across Africa.
Industry players are slowly becoming lured into entering the m-commerce market by the huge revenue opportunities and the potential for customer acquisition and retention. In the fourth quarter of 2014, mobile devices accounted for one-third of all e-commerce transactions worldwide according to a recent state of Mobile Commerce Report by ad network Criteo. M-commerce will eclipse desktop by 2016, according to a joint study between Paypal and Ipsos: Between 2013 and 2016, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for m-commerce is projected to be 42 percent.
Since more than 60 percent of time spent online is via mobile, it stands to reason that a lot of stakeholders are trying to get this right and speed up consumers’ ability to shop with the devices in their hands rather than with those on their desks.In Nigeria, for example, mobile represented over 95 percent of telecom revenues in 2013. Opportunities to market m-commerce offerings are especially strong in mobile-heavy markets. About 84 percent of e-commerce traffic in Nigeria is coming from the mobile platforms, compared to 55 percent in South Africa according reports.
Teledencity in Nigeria as at the end of January 2015 has now surpassed the 100 percent mark while active lines/phone numbers reached 140.82 million according latest Monthly Subscriber Data released by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) – an indication that that access to telephone services is getting deeper in the country. Euromonitor International has identified the top three most prospective broadband Internet markets among emerging economies worldwide, based on fixed and mobile broadband growth since 2008, size of the Internet user base and prospects going forward.
The standout markets are Iran, Nigeria and Indonesia, as these countries are witnessing a rapid connectivity programme that is allowing their large populations to become regular consumers of online services. l
