Browsing: Mobile Phones

Africa has for decades failed to provide improved trade mechanisms between African countries which has led to the current situation. The AfCFTA is supposed to remedy this.
And to be in good shape for trade under AfCFTA, countries have to ensure that they are willing to create value chains that will free the continent from the colonial trading system which has been in place for over 60 years and which has left the continent vulnerable.
With the potential benefits that the AfCFTA ha to offer Africa, the biggest trends that will drive growth on the continent include its population, technology and urbanisation among other factors.…

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Despite the world being more digitally connected than ever before, women are still being left behind.

This is according to a new study which reveals that women are 8 percent less likely than men to own a mobile phone, 15 percent less likely to use mobile internet, and 33 percent less likely to use mobile money in low and middle-income countries across the world.

The data is revealed in the fourth annual GSMA Mobile Gender Gap report, which reveals that these significant gender gaps are preventing women from reaping the full benefits of mobile technology.

The study indicates that closing the mobile gender gap is critically important and can deliver significant socio-economic benefits to understand women, their communities, and the economy.

It estimates that closing the gender gap in access and use could generate a revenue increase for the mobile industry of 12 to 37 percent in a typical low …

On the 1st of October 2020, the Global System Mobile Association (GSMA) released their “Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa” report which forecasted the mobile economy in Africa into 2025.[1] A positive outlook to start the month of October and the last quarter of 2020.

The highlight of this forecast is that by 2025, even with 1.05 billion sim connections and 614  million unique mobile subscribers and smartphone adoption reaching 65% of the total population, only 39% of Africans would be experiencing their mobile web on those smartphones. This seems to suggest that even though there would be exponential smartphone growth over the period the cost of connectivity may be a showstopper. That’s not necessarily the case because there’s more happening than meets the eye.

Mobile Economy SSA

The Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are going to spend collectively about $52 billion on infrastructure between now and 2025 and this would grow their revenues …

Rwanda’s Mara Group launched two smartphones describing them as the first “Made in Africa” models.

The two smartphones which are, Mara X and Mara Z will use Google’s Android operating system and cost 175,750 Rwandan francs ($190) and 120,250 Rwandan francs ($130) respectively.

They two will compete with Samsung, whose cheapest smartphone costs around $54 and non-branded phones at around $37. Ashish Thakkar Mara Group CEO said it was targeting customers who are willing to pay more for quality.

Mara Group is the first smartphone manufacturer in Africa giving a boost to Rwanda’s ambitions to become a regional technology hub.

Thakkar said that other companies assemble smartphones in Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria and South Africa, but import the components but they are the first smartphone manufacturers in Africa.

He said that they are making the motherboards the sub-boards during the entire process. He also said that plant had …