By Louis Avenant, senior project manager at Itemate Solutions.
Efficiency and customer experience, vectors of growth in the telecoms sector in Africa this year.
NAIROBI, Kenya, January 10, 2024 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/- Africa’s dynamic telecommunications sector is set to relive a bumper year in 2024, expanding its operations and expanding its service offerings to meet the needs of a clientele increasingly sensitive to digital technology.
According to industry forecasts, Africa’s telecommunications sector will grow by $2.24 billion during 2020-2024. This long-term growth is expected to be supported by the deployment of high-speed 5G connectivity and a growing range of complementary services, particularly in the financial services sector.
From discussions we have had over the past few weeks with leaders of telecommunications companies in East, West and South Africa, a number of common challenges have been addressed. Telecom companies are working to secure their existing revenue streams by optimizing their visibility to their B2B sales associates.
At the same time, a host of new customer-focused services and innovations hold the promise of greater long-term profitability. Achieving this will require boldness: if telecoms operators are not prepared to take risks to drive greater innovation, there will inevitably be new players who will, claiming market share and income in the process.
As African telecom operators attempt to balance higher profitability with better revenue protection, here are the key trends they should consider in 2024:
Digitalization strengthens the visibility of B2B channels
In telecommunications markets across the continent, from Kenya to Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Swaziland, operators rely heavily on distributors or resellers to drive sales and meet customer needs. However, a lack of digitalization has left many operators with limited visibility into their B2B channels, leading to challenges in inventory management, revenue projections and cost management.
The emergence of new technology platforms and proven systems to increase efficiency and visibility will transform operators’ ability to leverage their distribution channels for strategic advantage. While there may be some cultural resistance to increased digitalization, operators could use incentives – such as discounts – to encourage distributor buy-in.
It can also lead to significant revenue opportunities for B2B partners who can leverage digital capabilities in utilizing a broader range of products and services to better meet customer needs.
Innovation improves customer experience
Having successfully completed their digitalization efforts, telecom operators can offer a much more comprehensive range of products and services, thereby improving the customer experience. This offering can take the form of tailored financial services, such as insurance products or mobile money, as well as emerging innovations such as “Buy now, pay later” (BNPL).
The key is to integrate these services at the point of sale to ensure a fast and seamless experience for the customer. Given the increasing regulatory requirements in several African countries, telecom operators should ensure that their customer facing technology can meet KYC requirements to enable the delivery of new services.
To achieve this, telecommunications operators should look for point-of-sale solutions that offer efficient transactional flows and can meet the diverse operational requirements of the African telecommunications industry, with a rich list of functions and modules ready to employment.
eSIM adoption gaining ground
Although there are still laggards in all African markets, most consumers are moving away from feature phones towards more functional smartphones. Industry data indicates that feature phone volumes will fall from 66.3 million in 2019 to just 43.1 million by 2028.
Smartphone adoption will also accelerate the deployment of eSIMs, which have significant benefits for telecom operators and their efforts to provide a more comprehensive range of value-added services to their subscriber list.
This growth will be primarily driven by a younger customer base, eager to access social media platforms and enjoy the benefits of Africa’s booming e-commerce sector. It is expected that telecommunications operators will launch extensive promotional campaigns on social networks to attract young users to smartphones, from which they can offer a full range of services in order to increase their income and profitability.
Distributed by African Media Agency for Itemate Solutions
For additional information on Itemate Solutions, please visit: www.itemate.com
About Itemate Solutions
Itemate Solutions is a leading provider of custom digital solutions and software platforms, serving clients in ten countries across Africa and the Middle East for over 18 years. Having already helped telecom operators such as MTN solve business problems across the African continent, the company offers an ever-evolving set of technologies that helps telecom operators stay on top of operational challenges while creating lasting commercial value.
Itemate’s mission is to provide reliable, state-of-the-art digital solutions that enable our clients to grow their customer base profitably.
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Source : African Media Agency (AMA)