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  • Lagos and the FCT attracted 98% of Nigeria’s capital imports in Q1 2023

    In Q1 2023, eight Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) received $1.13 billion in capital imports. Lagos State secured $705 million (62%) and the FCT attracted $410 million (36%), adding up to 98%.

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  • Only 10% of Nigerians earn above ₦100,000, according to the Nigerian Financial Services Market Report. This aligns with most reports about Nigeria, and it's in sharp contrast to the narratives online.
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  • A Trend of Adult literacy rates of African countries

    Between 2018 and 2021, adult literacy rates across African nations exhibited significant disparities. Seychelles and South Africa led with literacy rates of 96% and 95%, respectively, indicating a high proportion of literate adults. Conversely, Chad had the lowest literacy rate during this period.

    These statistics underscore the uneven progress in educational attainment across Africa, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to improve literacy in lower-performing nations.

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Other Insights
Nigeria deploys 74,000 new point-of-sale terminals on average each month

Over the years, merchants on agency banking platforms have played an important role in bringing the banking system closer to people. They also played a key role during Nigeria's cash crunch in Q1 2023. Despite their importance, there have been reports of people using them to commit fraud, prompting the government's recent decision to have all POS agents registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. As of March 2024, 2.69 million POS terminals had been deployed, including those used as payment options.

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In 2023, 1.17 billion smartphones were shipped globally. Samsung and Apple maintained their stronghold on the smartphone market, collectively accounting for 38%, with each brand capturing 19%.

Xiaomi maintained a 12% share after peaking at 14% in 2021. Apple's market share shows a gradual increase from 2020, reaching 19% in 2022 and 2023.

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In 2012, the volume of Point of Sale (POS) transactions in Nigeria was nearly 2.6 million, valued at ₦48 billion. As of 2022, it had grown to nearly four billion transactions worth ₦41 trillion. The volume and value of POS transactions surged between 2020 and 2022.

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telecoms-subscribers-663796a2bc04d

In May 2023, 4G made up 25% of Nigeria's telecoms market; by March 2024, its share had increased to 32.7%. 2G's share of the market went from 58% to 57%, with 3G dropping from 16.5% to 9%. 5G has maintained steady growth from 0.12% to 1.24%.

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In 1994, the IBM Simon Personal Communicator, paved the way for a digital revolution. Fast forward to 2017, when smartphone shipments peaked at 1.57 billion units. However, the subsequent six-year period witnessed a 25% decline in shipments.

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MTN Nigeria’s revenue and profit after tax over the years

MTN Nigeria recorded its first loss in 2023 because of a loss of forex. The naira recorded a massive loss to the US dollar in the second half of 2023, with a 95% drop. The company's revenue jumped from ₦1.04 trillion in 2018 to ₦2.47 trillion. While its profit after tax grew alongside the revenue from 2018 to 2022, it dropped from ₦349b to a ₦137b loss in 2023.

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In addition to having one of the lowest populations on the continent, Mauritius boasts the greatest broadband penetration rate — 147.39% as of 2022 — of any country in Africa. The eastern African nation's broadband Internet subscribers surpassed its population in 2019.

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GSM subscribers in Nigeria only recorded three year-on-year drops in the past 11 years

As of March 2024, there were 219m subscribers in Nigeria's GSM market which is dominated by three players each with over 20% market share. More than 40 mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) have been licensed to date, all of whom will rely on the infrastructure of the country's four mobile network operators to offer their services.

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In the past five years, Nigerian Fintech startups have received the most funding in the startup space, with over $1.01b raised in 2021, the highest in 14 years. Funding for the sector has since reduced following the raise in 2021.
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Voice is still king for Airtel Africa, accounting for the largest share of its revenue between 2019 and 2023. However, the revenue from data and Airtel Money, its mobile money services have more than doubled within this period. Revenue from voice and others didn't record a sharp increase unlike data and Airtel Money.

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As of December 2023, Johannesburg had the highest number of millionaires (12,300) in Africa; Cape Town followed with 7,400 millionaires. South Africa dominated the list, with its cities and regions claiming top spots.

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Per Africa Wealth Report 2024, South Africa maintained its position as the country with the most millionaires in Africa in 2023.

The country has 2.4x the number of millionaires as Egypt and 4.6x the figure of Nigeria.

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  • Nigeria’s active mobile GSM lines reached an all-time high of 224 million in 2023, up from 222 million in 2022.
  • The number of active lines has grown steadily from 40 million in 2007, with notable surges in 2012 (110 million), 2018 (172 million), and 2020 (204 million).
  • Growth slowed between 2016 and 2017, where active lines dipped slightly from 154 million to 145 million, before resuming an upward trajectory.
  • With over 220 million active lines, Nigeria remains one of Africa’s largest telecom markets, driven by increasing mobile adoption.
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Africa's debt-to-GDP ratio (2024 vs 2028)
  • Unlike other regions, Southern Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to increase by 5.8 percentage points, reaching 77.4% by 2028.
  • Northern Africa is set to achieve the largest debt-to-GDP decline of 14.7 percentage points, from 84.2% to 69.5%, indicating significant fiscal adjustments.
  • Central Africa is expected to see a 12 percentage point drop, reducing its debt-to-GDP ratio from 45.8% to 33.8%.
  • West Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to fall by 4.3 percentage points, while Eastern Africa is expected to drop by 5.2 percentage points, both showing signs of improved debt management.
  • Even with the projected declines, some regions like Northern Africa (69.5%) and Southern Africa (77.4%) will still have high debt burdens compared to others like Central Africa (33.8%).
  • The declining debt-to-GDP ratios in most regions suggest either economic expansion or strategic debt control, but Southern Africa’s increase indicates potential fiscal stress.
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  • Nigeria's largest cement manufacturers each recorded over 50% revenue growth in 2024
  • BUA Cement recorded the largest revenue growth in 2024 (90.5%), nearly doubling its revenue from ₦460 billion in 2023
  • Dangote Cement's revenue exceeded the combined revenue of BUA Cement and Lafarge Africa in both 2023 and 2024
  • Lafarge Africa earned ₦696.8 billion in revenue, the lowest revenue of the three cement majors
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Key takeaways:
  • Tecno (23.55%) and Infinix (21.73%) lead the Nigerian mobile market, making up a combined 45.28% of the market share.
  • Samsung (12.36%) is the leading non-Chinese brand, with Apple (9.43%) following closely behind.
  • Xiaomi (7.15%) and Huawei (4.34%) are emerging as significant players in Nigeria's mobile sector.
  • Premium brands such as Samsung (12.36%) and Apple (9.43%) have considerable but smaller market shares compared to their Chinese counterparts.
  • Chinese manufacturers collectively dominate over 60% of the mobile market in Nigeria.
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Key takeaways:
  • In February 2025, Samsung and Apple dominate the mobile market in Africa.
  • Samsung leads with a 29.80% share of the continent's mobile market based on usage.
  • Apple ranks second with a 13.27% share, demonstrating resilience in markets sensitive to pricing.
  • Collectively, Chinese manufacturers hold more than 45% of the mobile market in Africa.
  • Brands under Transsion Holdings (Tecno, Infinix, Itel) together represent nearly 25% of the total market share based on usage.
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Key Takeaways:
  • In 2023, Kiribati spent the largest % of its GDP on education, amounting to 16.39%.
  • Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu each allocated over 10% of their GDP to education.
  • Bolivia and the Solomon Islands each directed around 8.3% of their GDP spending towards education.
  • The top ten countries dedicated approximately 6.6% to 16.4% of their GDP to education.
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