Telecom
Smartphone Market in Africa Grows in Q3 2020 As Feature Phone Decline
Africa’s overall mobile phone market shipments declined 6.0% year on year (YoY) in Q3 2020, according to the latest insights from global technology research and consulting firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
The firm’s newly published Quarterly Global Mobile Phone Tracker shows that the decline stemmed mainly from feature phones, with shipments of these devices declining 11.2% YoY in Q3 2020 to total 29.4 million units.
By contrast, smartphone shipments were up a healthy 14.1% YoY, with 22.9 million smartphones shipped to the region during the quarter. The growth of the smartphone market was caused by the release of pent-up demand after countries eased their COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and by a shift in vendor strategies to offer more entry-level flagship models.
Rising unemployment rates and economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to shift consumer buying patterns toward affordable and feature-rich products. Africa’s largest smartphone markets recorded mixed performances – Egypt and Nigeria both posted YoY growth in Q3 2020, while South Africa suffered a YoY decline. Smartphone shipments to Nigeria grew due to a shift from vendors to entry-level and mid-range devices.
Similarly, the Egyptian smartphone market grew as vendors offered devices with more competitive prices, larger screens, and improved features. Despite, experiencing a 13.4% YoY decline in shipments, South Africa continued to lead the way in Africa’s smartphone market, with shipments to the country totaling 3.3 million units.
“While South Africa’s smartphone market experienced a YoY decline, shipments actually increased 17.8% QoQ as lockdown restrictions were lifted and the channels replenished their inventories for Q4 promotions,” says Arnold Ponela, a research analyst at IDC. “South Africa is struggling with economic hardships, but smartphones have become an essential consumer item, making it a resilient market in a downturn.”
Transsion brands (Tecno, Itel, and Infinix) continued to dominate Africa’s smartphone space in Q3 2020, with 42.2% unit share. Samsung and Huawei followed in second and third place, with respective unit shares of 19.9% and 8.7%. The Transsion brands (Tecno and Itel) also dominated the feature phone landscape with a combined share of 76.6%. Nokia came in third with 8.0% share of feature phone shipments.
In terms of price bands, devices priced below $200 accounted for 89.3% of smartphone shipments to Africa in Q3 2020. The share of smartphones priced below $100 declined slightly from 53.8% in Q2 2020 to 53.0% in Q3 2020, while the share of devices priced $100-$200 increased from 34.7% to 36.3% over the same period.
“Demand for entry-level smartphones was driven by e-learning requirements since smartphones are the only device offering internet access for most households in Africa,” says Ramazan Yavuz, a senior research manager at IDC. “The mid-range segment ($200<$500) declined YoY, as consumers held back on upgrading to more expensive smartphones due to economic uncertainties.”
Looking ahead, IDC expects the recovery in shipments seen in Q3 to continue through Q4 2020 during the festive months, with overall shipments expected to grow 4.6% quarter on quarter.
The prospects for 2021 will depend on improvements in the overall economy, which will be largely dictated by the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine. Aside from this factor, all market indicators are pointing towards supply-chain constraints fully easing out during the second half of 2021, with demand returning to normal as economic recovery starts.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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