Africa’s Mobile App Market Thrives Despite Covid-19 Turmoil

A recently released report by Google and AppsFlyer, the global marketing measurement leader, has revealed that the mobile app market in Africa thrived between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021.

The report, which analyzed over 6,000 apps and two billion installations across South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, showed strong growth in the African mobile app market, with overall installs increasing by 41 percent.

Nigeria showed the highest growth, with a 43 percent uplift, followed by South Africa with 37 percent, and Kenya at 29 percent.

This increase has been attributed to a growing fintech ecosystem, and an increase in super apps are some of the factors responsible for the booming African mobile app market.

On average, the Sensor Tower Intelligence stats on consumer spending on mobile apps shows that it peaked at 64.9 billion dollars in the first half of 2021 across the App Store and Google Play.

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According to AppsFlyer, gaming apps performed well between the first and second quarters of 2020. The segment increased by 50 percent, compared to an eight percent increase in non-gaming app downloads.

The most notable trend was an increase in in-app purchasing revenue of 136 percent between July and September compared to the previous three months. The report further states that consumer spending increased in Q3 and accounted for 33 percent of 2020 in-app purchasing revenue.

South Africa’s in-app purchasing revenue increased by 213 percent, while Nigeria and Kenya saw significant increases of 141 percent and 74 percent, respectively, during the same period.

In-app advertising revenue increased significantly as Africans were more glued to their smartphones than ever before. Between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021, app advertising revenue increased by 167 percent.

Since the Android ecosystem has a larger market share in Sub-Saharan Africa, advertisers spend more money on the platform. Non-organic installs increased by 54 percent, while iOS installs increased by 19 percent.

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Between Q2 and Q3 2020, the cost per install (CPI) on iOS increased by 21 percent, implying that iOS app developers were getting fewer installs for the same budget.

There was no increase in non-organic installs on iOS toward the end of the year and into 2021, compared to a 40 percent increase on Android.

Both gaming and non-gaming apps, which were highlighted in the first two quarters, increased by 44 percent and 40 percent, respectively, in Q1 2020 compared to Q2 2020.

AppsFlyer also noted that super apps are on the rise as well. Super apps are “all-in-one” apps that offer users a range of functions such as banking, messaging, shopping, and ride-hailing.

“Super apps remove some of the barriers that these users face, as well as providing a level of customer insight and experience that traditional banks cannot,” the report said.

Commenting on the trends highlighted in the report, Daniel Junowicz, RVP EMEA & Strategic Projects, AppsFlyer noted that mobile app space in Africa is thriving, despite the turmoil of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“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. As a result, mobile marketing is becoming increasingly important for businesses across the continent,” Junowicz stated.

While it is 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.

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“Taking advantage of app promotion and engagement tools like Google’s App Campaigns, using analytics and measurement tools, and working with mobile measurement partners like AppsFlyer, will be key for companies looking to grow their user base, drive customer value and continue improving the user experience,” concluded Rama Afullo, Apps Lead for Africa at Google.