Smartphones dominate Kenya's mobile phone sales

One in two mobile devices sold in Kenya today is a smartphone indicating that the country’s mobile phone industry is moving further away from feature phones and more towards feature-packed smart devices.

According to a new study by e-commerce company, Jumia, of the 3.1 million devices sold in Kenya this year, 1.8 million were smartphones, representing 58 per cent of the units sold. “This represents a substantial year-on-year growth of 112 per cent compared to 3.6 per cent increase recorded in the feature phone category,” stated Jumia Kenya MD, Ms Parinaz Firozi.

The report, which was released in Nairobi yesterday, stated that the high penetration and growth rate of smart phones was primarily due to a strong economic climate and increasing Internet and mobile connectivity. “This has created a favourable competitive landscape, which has brought more brands and cheaper devices to the market,” read the report in part.

Market share

Nairobi remains the largest regional market in the country for smartphone vendors accounting for 42 per cent of sales in the country. Recent data from the industry regulator, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), indicate that the number of registered mobile subscriptions in the country currently stands at 33.6 million. Mobile penetration in the country currently stands at 82.6 per cent, representing one of the highest figures in the world.

Jumia further states that not only are smart devices becoming more accessible, but price wars between phone vendors is bringing cost down.

“In Kenya, the growth in smartphone sales by number of devices was 90 per cent higher than the growth in revenue in 2014, suggesting that average price points are dropping steeply.

“Many new vendors have taken advantage of this golden price point and launched new devices to challenge dominance of established players,” explained Firozi.