Kenya leads in intensive mobile internet users

Kenya has the most intensive mobile internet users in Africa, with each user browsing an average of 525 pages each month, according to a new report by Opera, the leading mobile internet software company.

The number of unique users grew by 246.2 per cent in the year to November 2009 while page-view grew by 615 per cent in a similar period.

The report, a snapshot study carried out in November last year, shows an exponential growth in usage of mobile internet around the world, especially in developing countries.

Compared to findings of a similar study in April last year, Kenya moved up one place to number three in the top 10 African countries with the highest users of mobile internet. Ghana and Kenya lead the top 10 African countries in terms of page-view growth at 4,348.6 per cent and 615.4 per cent respectively. Ghana and Ivory Coast lead in growth of unique users at 1,558.8 per cent and 330.2 per cent respectively.

“Despite tough economic times in the past year, people continue to adopt technology — such as mobile browsing — especially when it helps them overcome their hardships,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO Opera Software.

The findings raise hope of growth in mobile-enabled investments for entrepreneurs and solutions for consumers.

Relevant information

According to a recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), “In the near future, Internet-enabled phones may help deliver locally relevant information and services to entrepreneurs in developing countries, the way SMS and voice technology are already doing.” Local telecom firms have in the past few years invented a number of value added solutions based on mobile internet platforms. These include business directories, online payments and bookings for air and bus travel.

Top countries

“They enable users to access information, especially that relating to news, education, health, jobs and family. In a number of African countries, notably Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, mobile telephones enable individuals to gain access to banking,” adds the report.

The report by Opera also ranks various websites preferred by mobile users. In Africa, Facebook is the most popular in six out of the top 10 countries and is the second site in three of the countries where it is not leading. Also captured in the survey is the popularity of handsets for browsing. The Nokia 5130 topped the list of mobiles used for internet, followed by Nokia 3110c and Samsung SGH-E250 respectively. “Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets are extremely popular in Africa, but Samsung is a significant exception, boasting the most popular phone used by Opera Mini users in South Africa, Zambia and Namibia,” reads part of the report.

The report by Opera, State of the Mobile Web, tracks trends in mobile internet by capturing data of handsets using Opera Mini (leading the global mobile internet software market at about 30 per cent.) Opera Mini is free, supported through a partnership between its developer and the search engine company Google.

The report does not capture data from in-built mobile browsers but is indicative of the general mobile internet market.