Africa Battlefield for Digital Dominance-Expand iGaming Industry

Digital dominance takes momentum in Africa, with numerous investors and companies in the telecom space taking advantage of the growing African population expected to double by 2030. The 83% of global population growth is predicted to come from Africa; in simple words, by 2100, one in three people on the planet will live in Africa.

This population rate is expected to see demand for everything, mainly access to digital infrastructural needs, health care, financial service, and education. Consequently, this has put the region on the world map as the next big destination to invest in for investors, entrepreneurs, tech firms, iGaming companies, and notable e-commerce giant brands, all jostling to want to tap into the rapidly growing market. The battlefield in the digital space is taking shape among tech firms which are gaining momentum as different industries want to have a fair share of the expound African market. Access to digital services is pivotal to the growing population, which the vast majorities are under age 25. The demand for internet access will be significant as a new set of digital natives’ generation of 44 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population, equivalent to just over 450 million people; will own a mobile phone by 2025.

Approximately about 60% of Africa’s population still lack access to financial assistance, affordable and robust internet service, but despite the chunk of mobile penetration access Africa still has many jobs on their hands to close the gap. The potentials as creating a digital battlefield interestingly numbers of tech companies venturing into the telecom space over the years and mobile internet projects as increase and the competition to take a large chunk of the market are well underway. In recent years, we have seen several international tech brands building a submarine cable to connect Africa, such as Facebook, Orange, Huwai, and ZTE, to capture those in rural and remote areas and create affordable internet access for African people. It is expected after the completion of these submarine cable projects by 2023. It will propel all industries that rely on digital space. It will see the increase in internet penetration and widespread use of mobile internet users interestingly, coupled with the affordable internet data bundle, broadband connections, and a high internet penetration rate, capturing those in rural and remote areas. This project is fundamental to the iGaming industry in Africa, which affordable data bundle coupled to high internet speed and penetration rate are some of the obstacles hindering the progress of the iGaming ecosystem in Africa.

In contrast, the momentum of virtual currency bitcoin penetration has set the youthful population’s pace to go online. It is also aiding Africa’s mantra for the digital economy coupled with the Fintech space, such as mobile money service. It shaped all African economy and business e-commerce, health sector, and the iGaming industry is no exception. However, tech firms’ ambitious project is, of course, a development that will propel the Africa iGaming market. Simultaneously, a recent report released by Google and International Finance Corporation (IFC) succinctly estimates that the African economy can reach 5.2% of the continent’s GDP by 2025, contributing nearly $180 billion to its economy.

Further, it projected that the potential contribution could reach $712 billion by 2050 with the proximate implications if most African countries consider investment in infrastructure and digital service consumption. However, as mentioned, the public and private investment in digital service and the ongoing battle of investment in subsea cable couple with terrestrial infrastructure. It will enable increased access to affordable and higher speed internet, which is pivotal to the iGaming market digital infrastructure, a backbone of the internet economy. The battlefield of digital dominance is an exciting phenomenon for Africa.

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Adeleye Awakan

Author E-play Africa, sports betting reviews, thoughtful leardership articles in Africa gambling industry, marketing gaming platforms in Africa with strong networking relationship with gaming operators in Africa, Expertise in PR, marketing communication, and consultant on gaming in Africa.

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Adeleye Awakan

Author E-play Africa, sports betting reviews, thoughtful leardership articles in Africa gambling industry, marketing gaming platforms in Africa with strong networking relationship with gaming operators in Africa, Expertise in PR, marketing communication, and consultant on gaming in Africa.