Lifestyle

Beauty Top of the List for African Youths Expenditure: GeoPoll Survey

BY Soko Directory Team · February 10, 2017 08:02 am

Youth consumers in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) are very image conscious and are spending over 50 percent of their earnings on personal care items, with beauty being top of the list where the hair industry is estimated to be worth US$6 Billion.

This is according to a recent GeoPoll rapid survey carried out among youth between the ages of 18 to 35 in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda.

Close to 70 percent of Africa’s population now comprises of Millennials according to a 2011 Africa Development Bank report. Africans aged 16-34 account for 65 percent of the continent’s consumer spending. The African millennials are vibrant, on the move, tech savvy and image conscious. They are upping their levels of education and are extremely optimistic about their future.

Although the youth unemployment hovers around 12 percent in SSA, young Africans with jobs are taking charge of their future by saving towards education with over 34 percent of their monthly spend being set aside for this. Among the countries that were part of this survey, Ghana has the highest rate of youth saving towards education at 46 percent.

On the commercial side, the report disclosed that mobile and e-commerce exists but they have not become part of everyday life for youth consumers in SSA. In East African countries where mobile payments are popular, youth consumers are said to consider mobile payments as cash and still prefer it to other modes of payment (71 percent) for daily purchases. It is only in South Africa where credit cards are popular but only second to cash payments.

Although personal care takes up 56 percent of expenditure among the millennials, the youth in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana set aside a significant amount of their earnings for an investment in education. Advancing in education is one of the most important pursuits for millennials with many saying that they save up to 10 percent of their monthly earnings towards it. This is in comparison to buying a car, a house or travelling.

The report further noted that gambling is becoming popular among male African Millennials in SSA due to their high affinity to sports and the proliferation of local sports betting players. This is still a very nascent industry. 3 percent of Youth consumers in SSA indicated that they spend part of their income on gambling.

There are knowledge gaps among African millennials on areas such as effective saving plans, wise investments and financial management. When asked, many would like to better understand asset financing, entrepreneurship and investment opportunities available in their respective countries. This is proof that young Africans are striving for financial independence, prosperity and believe in their own ability to charter their own course with a strong belief in the adage “Education is the Key”.

About Soko Directory Team

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

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