App markets in Africa and SA show promising growth – report

A report on the mobile app market in Africa and South Africa showed installs increased substantially during the last year, with unique trends due to the pandemic.

Marketing firm AppsFlyer and Google published the report on 13 July.

The report, titled The African mobile apps landscape (and how to succeed in it), includes an analysis of over 6 000 apps and two billion installs in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.

“The mobile app space in Africa is thriving, despite the turmoil of the last year,” AppsFlyer RVP for EMEA and Strategic Projects, Daniel Junowicz, said in a statement.

“Installs are growing, and consumers are spending more money than ever before, highlighting just how important mobile can be for businesses when it comes to driving revenue.”

What did the report on the mobile app market in Africa find?

Between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021, overall installs on the continent increased by 41%.

Nigeria was the country with the biggest growth with 43% while South Africa increased by 37% and Kenya with 29%.

In South Africa, in-app purchasing revenue increased by 213%. Nigeria and Kenya also saw revenue increases by 141% and 74% respectively.

Additionally, 33% of all revenue made during the surveyed period was generated in Q3 2020.

More specifically, finance app installs in South Africa increased by 116%. At the same time, installs in Nigeria increased by 60%.

Gaming app installs increased by 44% while non-gaming installs increased by 40%.

The report found that the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown had a significant impact on gaming apps while non-gaming apps increased gradually over the year.

Between Q1 and Q2 2020, the periods just before and after restrictions were introduced, overall app installs in South Africa increased by 17%.

During that same period, gaming app installs in all three countries increased by 50%, compared to non-gaming apps which only increased by 8%.

“While it’s clear that mobile adoption is increasing, there’s still room for growth when it comes to app marketing, with many marketers in the nascent stage of their app maturity journey,” Apps Lead for Africa at Google, Rama Afullo, explained.

Featured image: Unsplash/Rami Al-zayat

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