Transsion Holdings, a Chinese-based company, has been the market leader in the African continent for some time currently with its 3 brands Tecno, Itel, and Infinix. the mixture of those three brands offers it the biggest market share within the continent. However, 2020 was the first time a brand in its portfolio really took the number one spot from Samsung.
According to a Counterpoint report, Tecno toppled Samsung to grab the highest spot in 2020. The smartphone brand saw its market share rise to 18% even as the market saw a 6.7% decline in smartphone shipments YoY.
Africa Smartphone Shipment Market Share, 2020
The report disclosed the COVID-19 pandemic conjointly disturbed the market within the first two quarters of 2020 with the second quarter being the worst as countries went into lockdown. However, by July, sales considerably improved. The market even recorded a 1.5% gain YoY in the fourth quarter of the year.
Samsung who had a market share of 18% in 2019 saw it drop to 15% in 2020 no because of problems with the supply chain because of the pandemic and a slow reaction towards the top of the year. Things ought to be better for Samsung this year because it has already launched its new Galaxy A smartphones in multiple markets within the continent.
Itel, another Transsion Holdings complete takes the third spot with a market share of 12%. Itel offers more cost-effective phones than its sister brands Tecno and Infinix. You wouldn’t be wrong to label its lineup entry-level and as we are able to see, that section has helped it be among the first three by market share.
Huawei still keeps the fourth spot in the continent despite the challenges it's facing. Counterpoint says the initial 3 quarters were robust however its shipments declined considerably within the fourth quarter.
This can be attributed to the trade ban that has prevented it from obtaining elements and therefore affected the launch of recent models in the market. Its market share has declined from 10% to 8% and is predicted to drop even more as things haven’t improved this year even with the new U.S. administration.
Infinix, the third Transsion Holdings brand closes the first five with a market share of 7%. Counterpoint reports that they recorded robust market gains within the last half of the year and it's the Transsion brand with the very best average marketing price.
However, it's begun to lower its costs due to market realities and is predicted to grab a bigger share of the market this year.
Xiaomi saw its market share double from 2% in 2019 to 4% by the later stages of 2020. Its shipments grew by 126% YoY, due to increased sales in key markets like Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.
Xiaomi is additionally aforementioned to be increasing its offline presence within the continent and by directly managing channels, it ought to record a rise in market share this year.
Xiaomi has already proclaimed its Redmi Note ten series in key markets like Nigeria a place where they're going to slug it out with Samsung’s new Galaxy A series smartphones.
OPPO also doubled its market share from 2% to 4% and saw its shipments grow 57% YoY.
It created its entry into the continent a number of years agone and has already recorded success in markets like Egypt and Algeria.
OPPO is additionally building its offline channels and is partnering with key operators within the continent.
Apple and HMD international (Nokia) each retain their 1% market share. The latter hasn’t recorded important success within the continent, no due to higher offerings at lower costs from the competition.
Another name on the list is Realme who didn’t have a market share in 2019 however currently controls 1%. The brand is however to launch in markets like Nigeria but we have a tendency to not be shocked if they are doing so this year.
Africa Smartphone Shipment by Price Band ($), 2020
Counterpoint additionally discovered that almost all of the sales recorded, over 80% to be specific, are from smartphones within the sub-$200 class and this trend is predicted to continue. 5G smartphones don't seem to be widespread however in the region and can presumably not be in the next few years.
