Africa has experienced rapid growth in its mobile and internet sectors over the past decade, outpacing global growth rates. This market-driven development has been enabled by huge infrastructure investments from private companies and innovations tailored to African users' needs, such as M-Pesa. However, Africa still lags behind global averages for technology penetration, representing significant opportunities for further growth, although political and economic instability in some countries continues to pose risks to investors.

1. Africa is a continent of contrasts. Endemic poverty and political
malfeasance are the most widely understood characteristics, but the
nascent market power of an underdeveloped continent with a population
that is expected to exceed 1 billion people for the first time in 2010, is
staggering. The continent that gave birth to the concept of the ‘Digital
Divide’ has, with a speed that has confounded even the most optimistic,
embraced aspects of information and communications technology at an
envious pace. Over the past five years growth in Africa’s mobile
communications market has outstripped growth in the global mobile
market by a factor of 2 to 1 and at the end of 2009 there were almost
450 million mobile subscribers. Internet usage growth has shown a
similar trend.
These developments have not been a result of some global intervention
to save Africa from itself. They have been robust and market-driven,
meeting the needs of people who are experiencing the compelling pull of
the new world of communications. But more than that, the high growth
rates have been accompanied by innovation tailored to the needs of the
African user. Safaricom’s M-Pesa payment platform is probably the most
well-known, but each African country has a story to share. Unique
business models have been developed. And early investors have made
exceptional returns. Where else in the world will a mobile operator be
able to earn an EBITDA of 60% off a subscriber base with a blended
ARPU of $12?
The high growth experienced in segments of the African ICT sector has
been on the back of huge investment in infrastructure by mostly private
sector organizations who built on the legacy investment made by
governments over a period of decades. These investments had to be
financed, often drawing on the creativity and daring of the investor to
provide capital to such risky ventures in capital-deprived countries. And
risks there were, and still are, as anyone that has played the African
game will attest to. Politicians have their own agendas, sometimes
personal and sometimes political. Strife and conflict can erupt at any
time. Licenses can have meaning, or not. Facilitation fees may make the

2. difference. But the era of opportunity is far from over. As a continent, ICT
penetration is still well below global averages, and African teledensity is
bordering on 50% in a world where the 100% mark represents no
barrier. Some countries, notably, the island states of the Seychelles and
Mauritius, and South Africa, have already breached the 100%
penetration mark. Others, such as Ethiopia and Burundi are striving for
10%.
, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Nigeria. These countries have been selected
on the basis that they are high growth/high opportunity markets, markets
that have sometimes not received the same level of attention that others
in Africa may have.
We believe that ICT investment opportunity review and market forecast
that we have prepared for each country will provide important
information for companies that are interested in investing in, or
competing in, the ICT sector in emerging African markets. Members of
the investment community, including investment bankers, development
bankers, venture capitalists and private equity companies, angel
investors, institutional investors and corporate investors, will find the
information in this report invaluable in providing background, context and
strategic analysis. It provides a comprehensive review of the investment
environment in each country. Mobile operators, fixed line operators,
ISPs, telecommunications and IT equipment providers, software
suppliers and professional services firms will find these opportunity
assessments valuable for developing their strategies for each market