Kenya sitting on huge untapped data opportunity

Kenya’s mobile industry is on the verge of a second wave of growth. This new burst of growth, that is already under way, is largely driven by data and will catapult the industry to deliver even more value-added services.

Voice and SMS fuelled the first wave of growth for the industry when it premiered at the turn of the millennium, significantly disrupting lives in Kenya. About one and a half decades later, growth in these segments is slowing down and seems to have hit an ebb. Previously, the mainstay of telcos’ top-line, voice and SMS are maturing, with their growth increasingly being outpaced by data.