Mobile connections will rise to 57% by the end of the decade and smartphones will account for half of all mobile connections in the region come 2020.

This is all being driven by declining prices, Sinclair noted. By the end of the decade there will be 400 million new smartphones, which will make a total installed base of over half a billion. As of the middle of 2015, 200 million people were accessing the Internet using mobile devices; a figure that is expected to double in the next few years.

“Mobile has had a significant impact on Sub-Saharan African economies,” he said. In 2014 alone, mobile contributed $102 billion to regional GDP, which is expected to grow to $166 billion by 2020. The mobile economy directly and indirectly supported about 4.4 million jobs in 2014 and this is expected to rise to about six million by the end of the decade.

“Sub-Saharan Africa has been a centre of innovation over the last five years, not only in terms of money but also in terms of crowdsourcing. A number of incubators have been developed and there is a flourishing mobile economy in this region.” Read more