Mobile devices integral to connecting the next billion Africans

  ‘Connecting the next billion’ has become a familiar theme in Africa as governments and private sector organisations look to enable the digital access that has become critical to accelerating socio-economic development across the continent. A fundamental part of this is the availability of mobile devices.

 

Shaun Durandt, GM: Southern Africa for HMD Global

In the first quarter of last year, mobile phone shipments to the continent totalled more than 46 million units. Of these, feature phones comprised close to 30 million. This highlights their importance in economies where basic telephony and services are enabled via USSD codes or SMS functionality. However, consumers are now looking for entry-level smartphones to give them access to online services and applications.

This has had a knock-on effect for other smart devices. The latest Connect Consumer Radar report from CCS Insight, underlines how important the tablet market has become. According to Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, there has been a renaissance in the tablet market, with 27% of owners seeing more value from their tablets since the pandemic began.

 

Interconnected lifestyles

The resultant digital ecosystems have become more integrated to enable people to become connected and embrace their passions. Much of this centres on ensuring the digital lifestyle blends seamlessly into the ‘real’ one. The blurring of the physical and virtual worlds has only accelerated due to the COVID-19 lockdown conditions experienced across Africa.

Unfortunately, it has also exposed some of the disparities across the continent. Infrastructure has been and will continue to be critical to getting more citizens to join the digital economy. And in this environment, there is an increasingly important role for devices (be they feature phones, smartphones, or tablets) to play.

 

Accessibility

People are doing so much more with their mobile phones than just sending an SMS or downloading a ringtone and music. These devices have become an extension of themselves, a tool they use to store memories, share life experiences, and use for work, entertainment, education, and even healthcare. It has become essential to have a device offering that matches the different needs of users whether that is for remote working, online education, or entertainment via apps or streaming services.

 

The much vaunted Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has been driven largely by the convergence of digital, biological, and physical innovations and technologies. These include the likes of artificial intelligence, genome editing, augmented reality, robotics, and 3D printing. The introduction of 5G connectivity has been a watershed moment.

 

Of course, it is by no means a new phenomenon – it first emerged in 2018 and has since grown into a force for change. For example, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has predicted that AI-powered technology and 5G will shift our approach to healthcare, our diets and underlying health, as well as drive more high-capacity services like telehealth, telesurgery, and ER services.

 

But having access to 5G, like other broadband infrastructure, is only part side of the equation. 5G-ready and 4G-capable devices mean that entrepreneurs and business of any size or industry sector can more seamlessly capitalise on the faster speeds and higher capacity that this connectivity brings.

 

Enabling environment

Aside from mobile’s obvious benefits of bringing the world to us in the palm of our hands, it also increasingly acts as a driver for good. We are seeing some incredible advances in using the processing power of smartphones to analyse massive amounts of complex data to speed up vital cancer and coronavirus research – all while the owners of these smartphones sleep.

 

New markets, services, and causes will also drive greater connections in an age where being and staying connected is so critical and will not necessarily be possible in-person.

 

There are already countless examples of technologies and apps that help bring people together even while we are apart, letting us sync our screens, watch, and discuss our favourite programmes with one another, or play games with each other while we video chat, or even exercise together.

 

Connecting people has become one of the most important targets to accomplish especially in the vast developing economies that cover Africa. But more than that, it is also about connecting the next billion people in a way that makes sense for them. It is about designing experiences that work with their needs, regardless of whether this comes on a feature phone, smartphone, or tablet.