CEO Weekends: Mobile Learning Growth Rate Highest in Africa, Report

Africa has emerged the continent with the highest Mobile Learning growth rate in the world, with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.9 percent,  according to a report dubbed “The 2012-2017 Africa Mobile Learning Market” published by Ambient Insight.

The market analysis shows that revenues will grow more than five times to reach $530.1 million by 2017, up from the $102.4 million reached in 2012, with consumers driving the current market closely followed by academic buyers.

“Seven of the fourteen countries analysed in this region have growth rates above the 38.9% aggregate rate,” reads part of the report.

The primary catalysts driving the Mobile Learning market in Africa include: A boom in mobile learning Value Added Services (VAS), adoption of Tablets in schools, accessibility of smart inexpensive devices on fast networks and direct carrier billing for app store purchases. All these are driven by a strong demand for mobile learning content on the continent.

Mobile Learning VAS products will generate the highest revenues in Africa throughout the forecast period, as mobile devices are now becoming the primary computing devices used by many people in Africa.

This is different in the developed countries as the report states: “In the developed economies, Mobile Learning is often seen as a disruptive learning technology, particularly in the consumer and academic segments. It is ostensibly disrupting the legacy PC-based eLearning industry. This is referred to as ‘product substitution’ in market research”

“Buyers in Africa are not substituting Mobile Learning for Self-paced eLearning, they are leapfrogging eLearning altogether,” adds the report.

The report includes revenue forecasts for fourteen Africa countries namely: Algeria, Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.