Nigeria Tops Africa’s Entertainment Market, Followed by Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania
Nigeria has been ranked as the fastest-growing entertainment industry worldwide. It will continue to experience significant growth in the entertainment and media industry in the next five years, followed by Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania.
The prediction was made by Price Water Coopers (PwC) in its Entertainment and Media Outlook Report: An African Perspective for 2017 to 2021.
According to the PwC report, Nigeria is one of the fastest-growing countries worldwide in terms of revenue generated from the E&M industry.
However, it cautioned that a significant portion of the revenue comes from internet-generated revenue, particularly revenue from mobile internet access.
Nigeria was forecasted to generate US$2.8 billion from the entertainment and media industry from 2016 to 2021. US$452 million, a significant portion of the revenue, was projected to come from internet access revenue. TV and video were forecasted to add up to US$200 million in growth of revenue by 2021.
Kenya
Kenya was ranked second in Africa after Nigeria in terms of revenue generated from the entertainment industry. The country’s entertainment and media industry, according to the report, was worth US$2.1 billion in 2016, a growth of 13.6% in comparison to 2015.
Within the five year period, the country’s entertainment industry was forecasted to generate US$3 billion by 2020 and US$3.2 billion by 2021 at 8.5% CAGR.
In the Kenyan market, the entertainment industry has the most established internet access, hence the largest revenue in Africa from that market segment. It’s also the market segment expected to experience the highest growth rate in the continent within the forecast period.
Ghana
Ranked third after Kenya is Ghana. The Ghanaian entertainment and media industry has shown increasing growth over the years.
With just a revenue of US$214 million in 2012, the country’s entertainment industry grew exponentially in four years to hit US$685 million in 2016 at 25% annual growth rate.
The figure has been projected to double between 2017 and 2021. The industry is forecasted to generate US$1 billion in 2019 and US$1.5 billion in 2021 at 16.5% CAGR.
Tanzania
The fourth position went to Tanzania. In 2016, the country’s revenue from the entertainment industry totaled US$504 million. However, that figure is expected to more than double come 2021.
The industry is expected to generate US$1.1 billion in 202 at a CAGR rate of 17.2% within the forecast period. That’ll be a significant growth given the industry’s revenue in 2012 was US$175 million only.
South Africa
South Africa ranked 5th in the report. Its entertainment industry is expected to generate about US$13.4 billion by 2021, a significant increase from its 2016 figure of US$10 billion.
Just like other nations such as Nigeria and Kenya, internet access is the main growth driver in the E&M industry. It’s anticipated to account for about US$2 billion of the projected growth in revenue.
Compounded yearly at 39.6% and 72.6%, the e-sports and virtual reality (VR) sectors will be the fastest-growing sectors, respectively. However, the two sectors are small in terms of revenue generation because they’re new lines of generating revenue.
Unlike the entertainment industry in the other four countries discussed above, South Africa’s is anticipated to slow down in revenue growth towards the end of 2021.
Growth Drivers
The report attributes the anticipated revenue growth in the different countries to rapid technological advances, changes in consumer preferences and continuous disruption of business models.
The factors have led entertainment and media (E&M) companies to adopt new strategies to convert prospects and customers to fans. The companies have become innovative to develop the most engaging, interesting, compelling and intuitive user experiences.
According to the PwC report, Africa’s E&M companies are undergoing significant changes in how they compete and offer value. Consumer experience has become important to revenue growth and strategic differentiation to meet user needs.
The entertainment industry in Africa is increasingly competitive and crowded. As a result, media companies focus on developing capabilities and adopting strategies for consumer engagement to enable them survive in the highly competitive market.
By Mercy Adhiambo Oginga
Africa Global News Publication
