A new GSMA study has revealed that the Sub-Saharan Africa region will gain more than 160 million new unique mobile subscribers by 2025, bringing the total to 623 million, representing around half of the region’s population, up from 456 million (44 percent) in 2018.
With this figure, the region will remain the world’s fastest-growing mobile region over the coming years as millions of young African consumers become mobile users for the first time. A huge number of this addition, according to the study, will be concentrated in high-growth markets such as Nigeria and Ethiopia.
“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.
Goodluck advised that, with mobile technology at the heart of Sub-Saharan Africa’s digital journey, it is essential for policymakers in the region to implement policies and best practices that ensure sustainable growth in the mobile industry, and enable the transition to next-generation mobile networks.