Africa’s smartphone market maintains resilience despite challenges

The African smartphone market has continued to perform impressively in the third quarter in 2023. This is despite various operational challenges, such as currency devaluation, increased import taxes, and government initiatives promoting local production, potentially leading to cost and price hikes.

Why?

According to Canalys, There has been a sustained demand in entry-level devices in many African countries, especially in the pre-paid market, which makes a big percentage of user base. In markets where economies witnessed significant currency devaluation, smartphone sales still made up significant figures, showing incredible resilience to adverse business environments. “The African market demonstrates strong resilience in demand and supply amid macroeconomic challenges,” said Canalys Senior Consultant, Manish Pravinkumar.

Financing options have favoured the smartphone sales have been accessible to the wider market in most markets. Additionally, the accessibility to good network connectivity from 3G to 5G has helped a lot in adoption of smartphones across various demographics in Africa.

Which brands have performed and how?

With the sustained upgrades to the A line series, Samsung has been able to increase its market share, while Xiaomi, OPPO, and Realme have increased their line of midrange devices to consumers.

Tecno has been buoyed by various financing options to boost its sales, while brands such as Xiaomi have introduced different products at affordable prices, thereby making the change to smart devices attractive to different demographics. Other brands, such as Huawei, have been on the forefront of software collaborations with companies in Africa to strengthen their various infrastructural needs.