When one takes into account the adult population of Kenya at 30 million – that’s 2.2 money wallets for every mobile user. A phenomena that’s risen with increased usage of double SIM cards and players like M-Pesa, Equitel, Airtel Money, Orange Money, Tangaza Pesa and MobiKash dominating the market.

M-Pesa was launched in 2007; other players like Airtel Money came to the scene much later post 2010. But by 2011, nearly half the adult population of Kenya was using money wallets with the number of money wallet accounts at 18.14 million and handling KSH 92.64 billion in outgoing transactions. 

After that year-on-year mobile wallets have been growing at a steady 10-12% as ecommerce and fintech got mainstream in Kenya. But not all players have been growing at the pace M-Pesa, the dominant market player, has. Even in 2012, of  19.79 mobile money accounts in the country 17 million (86%) belonged to M-Pesa. 

Currently M-Pesa has 48 million accounts in Kenya; which is 70% of the marketshare. While competition from other players Airtel Money and Equitel is tough – the main reason for some dent in marketshare, customers say is “price consciousness.”

For years, M-Pesa charged 5-10X more than its competitors. And it was only during the pandemic that Safari.com finally heeded consumers and slashed prices. “Ask any Kenyan today and they will tell you how M-pesa is a costly service which they only hang on due to convenience. Should an alternative money transfer system emerge which is convenient but cheaper, there will be a mass exodus from M-Pesa in droves,” says Daniel Wambua, CEO and co-founder of Cultecltd.com.

But some M-Pesa’s marketshare has been coming down over the years — to 70% from earlier near monopoly of 86% in 2012. And this Kenyans say is due to competition and bank-led PesaLink making inroads into M-Pesa territory. 

Bankers say Pesalink’s quiet popularity comes as a result of transactions being  real-time, cheap with higher limits (upto USD 10,000 per customer per day) compared to competing mobile money solutions. “Before the coming of Pesalink, transactions across the banks were limited to EFT, RTGS or cheques. These solutions have one thing in common, they are highly lagging meaning customers need to wait for days before transactions are settled. They are also expensive,” says Robert Kariuki, digital banker, Sidian Bank Ltd.

But, seeing how mobile wallets outnumber people in Kenya, it is possible Kenyans might decide to stick with M-Pesa, on top of downloading Pesalink, Airtel Money, others – as so far it seems to be a case of “the more, the merrier.”

Image credit: imarc

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Bringing the spotlight back on African women CEOs, Eloho Omame, founder of pre-seed VC for women, FirstCheck Africa, says “Hardly anyone is talking about the fact that Africa’s female founders are a rounding error in global startup funding.” She points how — “Of roughly USD 300 Bn in global funding last year about 2% (USD 55 Bn) went to female-led startups and about 1% (USD 3 Bn went to black founders). Closer to home USD 1.3 Bn came to Africa. 

Even the USD 41 Mn that came to 24 African startups with female CEOs isn’t something to get too elated about, says Eloho Omame — as the lion’s share (70%) of this went to three American women CEOs. A pittance of USD 11.3 Mn was what native African women CEOs managed to raise. “Fewer than 100 black women globally raise USD 1 Mn or more for their startups. Most of them were American.”

One cannot however, deny that momentum has been building. While in the initial years, it was only Y-Combinator that had a clear Africa Focus, now other players too have entered the continent. Google has a Black Founders Fund and the Google for Startups Accelerator programme. Facebook last year announced USD 200 Mn in funding for black-owned businesses; as part of its USD 1.1 Bn social justice commitment. 

There are dozens and dozens of accelerators and incubator programmes in Africa such as Founder Institute, Betraton, Changelabs, Openner, Mastercard’s Start Path Accelerator, Flat6Labs, Catalyst Fund, Maersk, FoodTech Africa, FRAGG Impact. But similar to FirstCheck Africa there are only a few — F-Lane Accelerator, “I’M IN” Accelerator, Greenhouse Lab, She Leads Africa — that are women focused. 

Another way of looking at female representation in the work force would be to look at how many women have made it to the top. African woman do seem feistier than their global counterparts as 23% made it as executives, compared to worldwide average of 20%. At CEO level, its 5% of African women, compared to a 4% global average, according to a McKinsey report. Another positive is that in its Global Gender Gap Report 2018, the World Economic Forum found that South Africa has the 19th smallest gender pay gap out of 149 countries. 

But, while women are making it to the top ranks are they being paid on par with men? A 2019 PwC report found that South African men are consistently paid more than women; and that 86% of SA CEOs are white. So for African women CEOs and startup founders – the dice seems doubly-loaded with both racism and patriarchy.

But with “diversity” and “inclusion” being taken more seriously globally, we can hope that African women CEOs might have it easier going forward. For instance this year, the Fortune 500 list had a record-breaking 41 woman-run companies; of which 2 had black female CEOs — Rosalind Brewer of Walgreens Boots Alliance and Thasunda Brown Duckett of TIAA. Compare this to a decade ago – when there were only two black women at the helm on Wall Street. Ursula Burns headed Xerox from 2009 to 2016, and Mary Winston was the interim CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond for six months in 2019.  

“As inspiring as the global DE&I conversation is the reality is that its unlikely to change much for Africa’s female founders, who are sit at a frustrating intersection of niche after niche after niche, in an industry that is not just white male dominated, but also ultimately Euro-centric,” says Eloho Omame, adding, “Its an exciting time for diverse founders. But not if you’re an African woman building your startup in Africa.”

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CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele made the announcement on Tuesday last week causing some amount of panic – as there are some 5,500 licensed BDC operators across the country, employing thousands of dealers. CBN said it trades USD 110 million weekly FX of USD 20,000 each with total annual sales of about USD 7.2 billion. CBN also added that it sees about 500 plus fresh license applications for BDCs every month; clearly indicating there is roaring appetite for BDCs, despite it being a crowded space.

Impact On Black Money Market

Meanwhile, the Naira has not suffered as badly as might have been expected — and actually rose 508 per $1 in the unofficial market window. The CBN made the announcement on July 27. Financial pundits predicted that with the existing BDCs barred – the only source of foreign exchange would be from the parallel market; leading to a spike in foreign exchange rate. And like they anticipated there was panic buying for a few days following the announcement.

But this week the black money exchange rate has been falling. So has some of the panic disappeared? Or are customers playing wait and watch?

The reason for the black money market trying to stabilise could have an explanation in history. Industry sources point to the CBN’s decision in 2016 to shut down the inter bank forex trading. “There was an initial panic then – as it will happen with any government announcement. But then we saw the market revert to status quo within a few weeks,” says Issac Udoka, financial planner, Lagos.

Another reason why there hasn’t been much panic could be because for many years, now, CBN has not been the only source of forex for BDCs. “They have independent sources. The only reason BDCs continued to latch onto CBN’s supply was because the cost of buying was the lowest with them,” says Udoka. A view that the Association of Bureau De Change Operators concur with as in their statement they voiced their “intention to meet customer demand from independent sources.”

Another viewpoint is that the official – government-controlled exchanges form only a fraction of the real money exchange market. “The truth is there is an insufficient inflow and supply to the CBN,” tweeted Kalu Aja, financial planner. Market observers say this move by the Central Bank may not prove a positive for liquidity.

Banks Get Into Act

Meanwhile, some of the top banks in Nigeria like Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and First Bank of Nigeria have been sending emails and SMSes to customers that they can avail of forex services at their bank branches. The Central Bank has also instructed banks to set up teller points at bank branches.

The Body of Bank CEOs has said that banks will ensure full compliance with the CBN directives.

Some banks say while the CBN’s action might send more business their way, they don’t expect to be overrun. “It is early days to see how much demand we will have. But whatever be the demand, we do have the capacity to handle it,” said a banker with a global MNC. “The more key concern is that the new policy should not help boost the black markets.”

Another issue is that “although the CBN’s reallocation of funds to the commercial banks is intended to curb scarcity, it is unlikely that the commercial banks will be able to fulfil all customers’ obligations in due time,” said Aderonke Alex Adedipe, partner, Pavestones Legal, in a report.

Many businesses, since the 2018 CBN directive that businesses can obtain foreign exchange from autonomous sources, rely on BDCs and keep the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market only as a backup option. “CBN has with its decision shut another window for businesses to obtain foreign currency,” said Adedipe.

The Rational For Ban?

Over the last decade, there have been many upheavals in the markets and the Nigerian regulator has struggled to ensure adequate forex liquidity. With a rich Nigerian diaspora based in America, Canada, UK and Europe – the need for forex becomes predominant. The CBN’s recent statement that they were getting 500 applications for BDC licenses itself points to the high demand for these entities. And what does the license entitle? It allows BDCs to supply foreign currency for business and personal travel, school fees, medical bills, utility bills, life insurance premiums, etc, to upwardly-mobile Nigerians and non-residents.

Justifying its ban, the CBN has stated that BDCs have been serving as fronts for money-laundering activities. Accusing them of corruption, the CBN has said that they have been handling money over and above the permitted limit. As per the CBN’s 2015 Operational Guidelines for Bureau Du Change – the maximum amount the BDC can give one customer for business or personal travel is USD 5,000. The CBN also requires BDCs to sell customers dollars within their specified profit margin. “For years BDCs didn’t bother about the rules on limits or profit margins. And everyone knew they weren’t complying – including the regulator. It is quite a puzzle as to why they chose to make this crackdown now. Because banks were not lobbying for this change. No banker or bank association went up to the regulator saying they wanted this particular chunk of business,” says a banker, who did not want to be identified.

But even if they did not ask for this change, banks will now find themselves at the centre of this as CBN has said its weekly allocation will now be given to authorised dealers i.e. commercial banks.

Licensing Fee, Trust Issues

Earlier, the CBN required every BDC to maintain NGN 1 Million (USD 2,424) with it as a caution money for the purpose of paying bonafide claimants in the event of default or liquidation of the Bureau De Change. After its ban, CBN has said that it will return the deposits and licensing fees of existing BDCs and applicants.

“Now this deposit amount might not be much. But it has a bigger implication. As long as they were regulated entities with the deposit guaranteed by CBN – a customer had more recourse to law if he gets cheated. Now, it will become more difficult for customers if they get cheated; particularly if they chose to go to a lesser known BDC,” says Udoka.

The Association of Bureau De Change Operators also voiced concerns over customer trust. “We have been providing good service to customers for years together. Now if there are a few fraudulent entities – how will the average customer know the difference between them and us? For customers it was a point of reassurance if they could look us up on the CBN’s site as proper licensed entities,” said a member. “We hope to engage with the CBN on this issue in talks.”

BDCs also make the point that they would have never come into existence had banks been providing decent service to customers. “Banks aren’t saints either. For years banks used Know-Your-Customer (KYC) forms to bind their customers in endless bureaucratic red tape. They’d disqualify customers on the flimsiest reasons. We even had scams with bank officials engaging in forex roundtripping. If banks were providing such great service – why did BDCs grow from less than a 100 to 5,000+ in a decade?” asks a BDC operator.

Image: Wikipedia

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African students have been consistently making it to top institutions from the likes of Havard, Yale, Princeton to Oxford, Cambridge. And in her controversial book “The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America” – Yale Law School professor Amy Chua looks at how certain ethnic groups like the Chinese, Jews, Nigerians see more academic and professional success than others. And one of the criteria for success mentioned in the book is the behaviour of parents; how parents play a vital role from a child’s early years. 

But in the quest for academic achievement does emotional intelligence get underprized? And is it a less widely acquired skill in our society. A 2018 study on suicide ideation and attempts among students in South Africa; shows a correlation between suicide risk and anger-related control problems, low self-esteem, perceived stress and unmet school goals.  

For It’sOK founder Cody Gordon he was in high school when his father died. And as he struggled to cope with his death – Cody found himself surprised with the emotions of grief, anxiety, pain and even anger that overtook him. It was while navigating this personal crisis that he felt there was a larger need for emotional skills to be taught to kids, in the same manner, they were taught maths, swimming or cycling.

 
And so in January 2019, Cody Gordon with his friend Michael Dukes started developing — It’s OK App for school kids. The startup claims to have turned profitable in the first year of operation and now has a roster of South African schools, including IVA Global, Centennial Schools, King David Primary School Victory Park signed up for its services. Currently in use by more than 1,000 students from grade 1 to 12, Gordon says he aims to have by 2022 100 schools signed on and 100,000 plus students using his app.

Isn’t emotional intelligence too large a concept for students in lower classes to relate to?

“You’d be surprised but it isn’t. Even kids in lower grades can identify feelings of happiness and sadness. And also why they are feeling that way with a little help.”

“When my father died, I started acting out and engaging in self-destructive behaviour. I was at a crossroads then. I could go either way. I could take personal responsibility for my actions and try to regulate my emotions or let myself go further down on my road to a personal hell. I started studying the lives of successful people and I realised that they constantly strived for personal growth; they tried to make their current skillset better,” says Gordon. “And then I wondered why was it so difficult for me? Why wasn’t this something that was taught to me in school?”

Was the decision to be completely online post or pre-pandemic?

“So it was in Jan 2019 that  I and my CTO Michael Dukes decided to create an emotional support system for the average student. From the beginning, we decided it would be online and not offline. At that time we were thinking of scalability; and how one cannot scale beyond a certain bandwidth if there is also the need for a physical presence, brick-and-mortar clinics.”

“Of course in Jan 2019, we couldn’t have predicted the pandemic. But lucky for us, we were ahead of the curve during the pandemic. And then the lockdowns happened and students were forced to stay at home; and suddenly everyone — policymakers, the media, schools, parents — were talking about loneliness, vulnerability and support systems. All the issues we had been wanting to highlight came into sharper focus with the pandemic, bringing the spotlight dead centre on mental health.”

So how does the app work? 

“The It’sOk app provides three profiles to its users – a school‌ ‌profile,‌ ‌a‌ ‌student‌ ‌profile‌ ‌, and‌ ‌a‌ ‌parent‌ ‌profile.‌ The app helps students articulate how they are feeling by clicking on a range of emotions; they then learn about the spectrum of emotions they are feeling and try to document their journey.‌ And students also have the option to seek and get help through the app from a teacher or counsellor. Parents can also access how their ward is feeling – and if they are seeing certain patterns of negative emotions consistently arise – then they can take steps towards tackling it. The school also has access to student emotions – but not at a granular level; the school cannot see what an individual student has said or expressed (via emoticons). But overall, the school can see how a certain class or age group is feeling and whether they need to have more fun activities to break up the monotony of everyday school life or the stress of an upcoming exam. The one trend that we seem more commonly is fear and anxiety before homework and exams.”

Overall the objective is to make sure our students are well-rounded individuals. That while academic and sports achievements are to be prized, the path to being a consistent winner is emotional intelligence and self-awareness. We provide education, tools and much more to create a holistic individual and an effective contributor to society.

And on the other hand – we provide schools with a platform to learn about the emotions that are being experienced in their school. We do this in many different ways and ultimately give the school the ability to ensure that time, energy and resources are spent addressing the correct areas. We provide the school with the ability to make decisions from a mental health perspective.” 

How does the app work when the child is a victim? and when the child is the bully?

“Say a child is a victim of bullying then the app helps the child reach out to a safe adult – that could be a counsellor, school teacher. We help a student focus on themselves. Focus on their emotions. The app asks – “How can you develop? How you are feeling?” Start that process of self-awareness – which can take them to the next step of how to deal with a problem.” 

“Or the child is bullying someone else. Then the app helps the student in correcting their behaviour – and ensuring anonymity if they need it. Because children aren’t happy when they engage in bullying – there is always fear, insecurity, a need to feel powerful and in control. Once the child identifies these feelings. Then the child can take corrective measures.”

“The app addresses a range of issues from gender, sexuality to even pimples. For pre-teens hitting puberty can mean them grappling with a range of emotions – not all of which they would be comfortable sharing with a parent or even counsellor. But still, by journaling their thoughts and using our tools they can find the answers themselves to some of the internal conflicts they face. The option to remain anonymous or use the app in ghost-mode can also help students from vulnerable backgrounds – say if it is their parents engaging in the abuse.”

Given mobile phone addiction is a real problem, do children need another reason to be on the phone? 

“In terms of mobile addiction, we feel our app will prove an equaliser. On Instagram, Facebook, there is this constant comparison among kids; the need to be cooler; more accepted, more popular. This leads to an increase in anxiety, depression, etc. But with our app – the focus is on how one feels. Since mobiles are here to stay, we hope that this will prove to be technology for the good.”

One of our teachers gave us feedback post-app usage that — “I think in this modern world we get swept away by external influences, and it’s been great for the students to stop and reflect…and I’ve noticed a change over days in terms of them getting to know who they are and how they feel.” We have also partnered to provide devices for students from underprivileged backgrounds – we didn’t step into this assuming every child will have a mobile phone. Also sometimes the device is shared with siblings and parents. So having separate profiles help in ensuring privacy and trust of the child.”

Every child is a teacher is an old proverb, so what are the things you learnt from kids? 

“For our team tech, it is an enormous advantage the ease and comfort with which the younger generation adapts to mobile phones. My CTO Michael Dukes did a lot of testing with kids in the initial days to get their feedback. Even now we test with kids new features or designs. ” 

A 2016-17 study found that South Africa’s public mental health expenditure was USD 615.3 million, representing 5% of the country’s total public health budget. And with the Covid-19 crisis, the expenditure is likely only to increase and not decrease. So where do you see this market heading and what are your long-term objectives? 

“There is certainly a huge market and potential for our product. Currently, we are in talks with investors. Our revenue model is currently from the schools and we will be keeping it that way. We hope that the app can improve emotional literacy rates across a broader spectrum. Of more than 3,000 words in English to describe human emotions, even adults use only 3 or 4 on average to describe how they feel. So this skill we teach students – to identify and speak about their emotions might prove invaluable for their adult life.”

Featured Image: Pixabay

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When BBC did a feature film on the Ghanian dancing pallbearers from the coastal town of Prampram in 2017, they had no idea it would take the world by storm. The group, referred to as Nana Otafrija Pallbearing, has its own set of internet memes, plastic dolls (made by an ambitious Hong Kong company for the souvenir market)  and even former US President Donald Trump retweeting a morphed version of their original video. Today, this group led by Benjamin Aidoo performs internationally and for domestic markets — and continues to draw attention. In Latin America,  Brazil, Peru and Columbian police used an edited version of the video to exhort people to stay at home and observe Coronavirus lockdown norms.

But it’s not just Ghana, which is big on celebrating funerals and the passing of life. Tina Maburu, a real estate consultant, from Ghana, says, “I have worked in SA, Tanzania and Ghana – and I have seen that across cities and tribes there is a general feeling that funerals need to be grand as its a way of honouring our elders.”

“It might seem funny. But, I remember attending a funeral in Tanzania with 1,000 plus guests. So the family had only informed 200 relatives, friends and colleagues. But each person invited took it upon themselves to bring their kids, parents and even distant aunts. While the funeral ceremony itself was not extravagant – the number of guests made the catering prohibitively expensive. And I felt amused that at many funerals, caterers and the family on auto-default ensured there was food for 800 – 1,000 guests. And these aren’t even rich people, but people from middle-class backgrounds.”

“And please don’t imagine gold-scroll coffins, a fancy music band, massive amounts of flower wreaths. That happens only with African politicians. For the middle class – a funeral gets expensive because of ceremony charges (how much you pay the pastor), catering and burial plot charges,” says Tina. 

In Zimbabwe, there is a vibrant industry with burial plots for funerals. “I realised this when I was working on a construction project for a funeral company. They had made so much – just by promising nicer plots – shady, surrounded by trees, flowers,” says David Arumainayagam, CEO, real estate development firm Urban Rises in Zimbabwe. In fact, in the central business district of Harare – you will find insurance company offices jostling for space with undertakers and coffin manufacturers — resulting in it being dubbed as “Death Valley.”

In Kenya to cope with the high cost of funerals, many people make public appeals. What in earlier days used to appear in the form of posters on city walls have now transitioned into social media posts. For instance, Debora Nabubwaya used “GoFundMe” for contributions towards her aunt who died in Eldoret, Kenya from breast cancer. And with cultural assimilation, even expats in Kenya – go with cultural pressure and norms for a fairly elaborate funeral. For instance, fellow activists and friends of British expat activist Joan Smith made a social media appeal to cover her medical and funeral expenses.

Kenyans say – most middle-class households are just one medical emergency away from bankruptcy. “When my uncle died, his wife was making a 6 figure salary and yet we were all scrambling to help with transport and funeral costs,” says Jane Ndongmo.
And transport costs could be steep, says Saruni Maina, Founding Editor, Gadgets Africa. “It is customary to be buried in your home village and that could mean a journey of anywhere from 400-750 km from Nairobi.”

So where does insurance come in?

Africa’s insurance industry is worth USD 68 Bn and is the eighth largest in the world, according to a report by McKinsey. Though this isn’t evenly distributed. South Africa, the largest and most established insurance market, accounts for 70% of total premiums; followed by Morocco, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Zimbabwe, others.

But oddly, funeral insurance forms a huge chunk of life insurance. “In Zimbabwe, funeral insurance sales comprise 68% of the total life insurance market,” says Mustafa Sachak, CEO, Zimnat.

And these are family floater covers. “It covers one’s parents, in-laws, spouse and kids. We offer a maximum cover of ZWD 1 Mn (USD 2,763) for a family consisting of spouse, 4 kids and their parents. And the premium will be roughly about ZWD 6,300 (USD 17) if the elders in the family are below 75 years of age. But this is at the high-end,” says Sachak. “At the lower end, our minimum cover is ZWD 100,000 (USD 276) with a premium of ZWD 1,260 (USD 3.5).

And these plans take into account the probability that it’s more likely — that the breadwinner is paying for his parents or in-laws funerals. “For the funeral covers, in case of the death of a parent one has access to 50% of the main cover. That means in the 1 million cover, parents are covered up to ZWD 500,000 (USD 1,381).

In Kenya, the Association of Kenya Insurers say, the most popular plans are those that cost between KSH 1,200-3,000 (USD 10-23) for coverage of KSH 100,000- 300,000 (USD 921-2,763). In Kenya, insurance sales is primarily driven by insurance agents – but in recent years bancassurance and online platforms have also become key distribution channels. For instance, Edith Chumba – head of retail banking Kenya & East Africa, Standard Chartered, while launching “Farewell Plan” in partnership with Sanlam Insurance underpinned that “funeral costs tend to be very expensive in our society.” The Farewell Plan offers up to 1 million cover — i.e. KSH 1 Mn (USD 9,212) — signalling the rise of the upwardly mobile salaried class in Kenya.

Low-income or Upper-middle class product?

In 2010, when ILO Microinsurance Innovation Facility did a survey of microinsurance practitioners in Africa it found that 14.7 million people in 32 African countries were covered by microinsurance products. More than half (8.2 million) were in South Africa, where funeral insurance was by far the biggest microinsurance product. The survey also revealed that of life insurance taken by 9.1 million low-income households, 6.2 million had funeral cover. 

Life insurance premium as a percentage of GDP was 9.4% in 2010 in South Africa. Fast forward to 2019, and life insurance as a percentage of GDP was 13.75%, as per data with Swiss Re. Funeral covers as a part of life insurance have also grown — from being a microinsurance product targeting low-income households it has become a middle-class and upper-middle class product with biggies like Discovery, Liberty, Momentum, Old Mutual and Sanlam Insurance offering the same.

“What has really marked the paradigm shift is large corporates now buying funeral insurance for their employees. And getting such group cover business is far more lucrative a proposition for insurers than individual insurance sales. When you look at the cost of customer acquisition – getting one individual to sign the dotted line takes quite a bit of convincing from our insurance agents. But when it comes to corporate group covers – it’s just one cover but funeral insurance for anywhere from 500 – 2,000 employees,” says an executive at Old Mutual. 

Covid-impact 

The country’s top five insurers lost ZAR 8 Bn (USD 540 Mn) of value, compared with ZAR 32 Bn (USD 2.1 Bn), as per PwC data. The combined group embedded value of insurers fell 9% both due to higher claims during covid and lower investment income from turbulent markets. Insurers say, the higher claims experience in SA was due to more Covid-19 deaths and non-Covid deaths as the healthcare system got clogged with the pandemic. 

As per data with ASISA (Association for Savings and Investment South Africa), total claims paid in 2020 rose 6% year-over-year to SAR 523 Bn (USD 35 Bn) in 2020. While this spelt bad news for the industry — as SA’s top five insurers posted a loss of SAR 870 Mn (USD 58 Mn) in 2020 compared to a profit of SAR 22 Bn (USD 1.5 Bn) in 2019; insurers say long-term this will reap dividends.

 
“Yes, 2020 was a bad year for two reasons. One, insurers paid out heavier in claims. Secondly – for an insurer investment income contributes a sizeable portion of revenue, and this year the economic downturn and market fluctuations met poor returns on investment. But long-term, this will prove positive as the pandemic has made policyholders more aware about the need for insurance,” says an executive at KenIndia Assurance. 

Insurers say post-pandemic they have seen an increase in sales from fresh-to-insurance customers. While its still early days for 2021 data to show a growth in sales, insurers say internal numbers and anecdotal evidence point to the fact that Africans have increased awareness on the need for both life and funeral insurance. Another marked trend is old customers are now upgrading existing policies for higher coverage or buying additional covers. “Cross-selling has gained importance. Customers who have bought funeral covers, have allowed themselves to be persuaded into buying life insurance and pension plans,” says Sachak.

Image credit: Benjamin Aidoo, Twitter

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While users did install food delivery, e-commerce apps, the highest growth was seen in gaming apps with installs going up 50% in all three countries, said the report. Non-organic gaming installs also increased by 56% – showing that marketing and advertising spend has clearly helped companies. So how did food delivery, e-commerce apps fare? As per the report, non-gaming apps only increased by 8% for the same time period.

But when we look at data from AppAnnie that compares growth in the five-month period between October 2019 and February 2020, we can actually see a sharper growth. There was a 30% increase (Kenya 31%, Nigeria 32% and South Africa 31%) in-app downloads.

AppAnnie’s data also diverges from AppFlyers – when it comes to the content of downloads. It is possible that the divergence arises from the sample size of the collection. AppsFlyer did its analysis on 6,000 apps and 2 billion installs in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. App Annie looks at all downloads in these countries. So where do they differ?

While AppsFlyer talked of an upswing in gaming, App Annie data points to a 150% increase in consumption of business, 66% in news and magazines and 63% uptick in health and fitness apps.

Over a longer timeframe, 2020 versus year-to-date 2021, app installs have increased by 41% says AppsFlyer. Broken down by country, Nigeria showed the highest growth at 43%, followed by South Africa at 37% and Kenya at 29%. Again in the AppsFlyer report for 2020 vs 2021 – gaming installs were the highest at a 44% rise; while non-gaming increased by 40%.

For startups and app mobile developers, the focus on Android-first might continue. As the report says, non-organic installs on Android increased by 54%, compared to only 19% growth on iOS. Cost Per Install (CPI) on iOS also increased by a significant 21% between the second quarter and third quarter of 2020 — meaning iOS app developers were getting fewer installs for the same budget.

Another positive from the report for businesses would be that in-app purchasing (IAP) increased between July and September 2020 by 136% — showing that from retail purchases to gaming upgrades, users were loosening their purse strings at the height of the pandemic. Despite job losses and a slowdown in the economy, in-app purchase revenue went up 213% in South Africa, 141% in Nigeria and 74% in Kenya. The report also says a majority of these in-app purchases were e-commerce, food delivery, medicines and other non-gaming apps.

Another trend predicted could be the rise of more super-apps like the Vodacom-Alipay Super app that was first launched in South Africa this May. The report predicts that Africa might follow close on the heels of China – with its WeChat and Alipay; which can be used for multiple functions from banking to messaging to shopping and ride-hailing. While “all-in-one” apps are still new, the nimbleness and fast adoption seen in Africa could pave the way for them, said the AppsFlyer report.

But then what about poor infrastructure, lockdown-crimped earning capacity? GSMA data shows, mobile-internet adoption at the end of 2019 was at 26%, significantly lower than the global average of 49%. GSMA has not released 2020 numbers – but it is possible higher demand might have resulted in higher adoption. GSMA data also showed only 12% of consumers opened an installed app after 3 days – another indicator that super apps would be more than welcome in the continent; as they are providing more value to users with a multiservice offering.

“As Africans spend more time with smartphones, they were increasingly likely to spend money in apps, indicating just how important mobile can be for driving revenue,” said Daniel Junowicz, RVP EMEA & strategic projects, AppsFlyer.

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In many countries like Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and Angola, homegrown apps have broken into the top league or moved up the rankings, as per data from App Annie.

For instance, take the case of Angola, apart from the usual US social media giants, one also sees two financial apps — Multicaixa Express and BAI Directo.

Multicaixa Express allows for mobile banking for those who own the Multicaixa debit cards; the one and only brand name operating in Angola.

While the cards can be issued by any bank, the inter-operable network is operated by EMIS (English Interbank Service Company). BAI Directo, on the other hand, is the mobile banking app of BAI (Banco Angolano de Investimentos), which was the first Angolan bank created after the country’s independence.

Analysts say the digital revolution in Africa is marked by growing affordability and accessibility.

“A great advantage Africa has over other continents in riding the disruptive wave is that there’s far less legacy to get in the way than in other regions, creating a clean sheet on which companies can develop their own distinctive business models,” say analysts at PriceWaterCoopers.

With many African countries leapfrogging technology — skipping the desktop-broadband era to go straight to mobile — it should be no surprise that Africa has many financial apps in the top 10. At No.1 position in Kenya for highest downloads is M-Pesa; while a newer app offering of Safaricom is at No.9 position.

In Botswana, it is the official BSafe contact tracking application post-Covid that has made it to the top-10. But also in its top 20s are homegrown financial apps like that of First National Bank and then music heavyweight Audiomack — Africa’s biggest rival to Spotify. In fact, Audiomack is not just in Botswana, but in 10 other countries including Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Gambia, DRC that Audiomack has made it to the top-10 app list.

Users say Audiomack’s success above the likes of Spotify is primarily because it’s a free app. “The fact that one doesn’t need a premium subscription to listen to music is a big draw (one pays only for downloads). Also, their promotion of fresh talent with new African artists makes it an exciting space for music lovers,” says an Audiomack and Spotify user.

Apart from Audiomack, another big name in the African entertainment scene seems to be StarTimes On – a video streaming service for watching serials, films, football matches, etc. With the entertainment app being highly popular in countries like Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.  

Among Asian apps that are popular – apart from the obvious TikTok — is clothing app Shein Fashion in South Africa; Viber Messenger in Libya; My Airtel Africa in Malawi; file-sharing Xender, photo and video editor Lomotif in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, Niger; and VidMate, which can be used to download videos and songs from YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, in countries like Guinea.

The biggest success story of “home-grown-is-best” can be seen in South Africa; with as high as four SA-based apps in its top 20 app downloads. In the second position in SA after WhatsApp, one can see SA’s second-largest retail bank Capitec Bank’s mobile app. At No.4 is Shoprite’s Checkers Sixty60; followed by food delivery service Mr D Food at No. 12 and shopping app TakeaLot at No.19.

But why are certain apps dominating only in their country of origin and not have pan-African reach? Audiomack is among the few which has succeeded. But why have the others failed? Developers say one of the major hurdles they face is regulatory red tape – as they would need multiple agreements with multiple telecom companies in different countries. Each African country brings with it – its own set of business regulations, anti-competition laws, and rules of engagement.

There is also the question of whether homegrown African financial apps, e-commerce, food tech apps, others made it big only because of the absence of Google Pay and Amazon delivery?

In many countries like India, the entry of Google Pay and Amazon delivery seriously hurt the bottom-lines of players like Paytm, PhonePe, Flipkart, others. In India, currently, as per App Annie data, Google Pay is at No.5; ahead of PhonePe (No.9) and Paytm (No.17); and Amazon India is again at No.12; ahead of homegrown Flipkart at No. 20.

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