Nigeria and Ghana smartphone shipments led the West African market with shipments of 12.6 million units in 2019 according to the latest figures from global technology and consulting services firm International Data Corporation (IDC) released yesterday.
Nigeria’s smartphone market grew 5.3 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) in Q4 2019 while Ghana recorded 6.1 per cent within the same period. Nigeria’s growth comes on the back of a 3.2 per cent QoQ increase in Q3 2019 after the market suffered a slow H1 2019, which translated into a 3.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline for 2019 as a whole.
On the other hand, Ghana saw smartphone shipments increase 6.1 per cent QoQ in Q4 2019 and 9.1 per cent YoY for 2019. Combined, these two countries saw shipments of 12.6 million units in 2019.
The decline in Nigeria in H1 2019 was caused by the closure of airports February, which led to a considerable slowdown in imports. The extended campaigns for the 2020 general elections also impacted the market, while the dollar was also unstable during this same period, which had the effect of reducing smartphone shipments to the country.
Together, Transsion brands (i.e., Tecno, itel, and Infinix) held the biggest market share in 2019 as they launched a number of successful models with big screen sizes and mid-range prices, including the Spark 4, Phantom 8, and Camon 12, among others.
In addition, Transsion experienced strong demand for its wide range of models in low price bands ($0<$100). Huawei had a major comeback to the market, benefiting from an increased marketing budget and the launch of new products in the mid-range price bands. Samsung benefited from its A series models, which had a wide market audience due to the affordability and rich features of these devices.
The Nigerian government raised VAT from five per cent to 7.5 per cent effective from February 1st, 2020 is likely to lead to an increase in smartphone prices, leading to slower smartphone adoption in the market. With VAT averaging five per cent in the markets directly neighbouring Nigeria, gray market re-exports of smartphones into the country are likely to increase.
With Coronavirus Covid-19 threatening, global commerce and shipments, IDC expects smartphone shipments to Nigeria and Ghana to decline 15.4 per cent in QoQ in Q1 2020 and 3.9 per cent in Q2 2020.
