Samsung Electronics ranks first place in Africa’s smartphone market revenue in the first half of this year

Samsung Electronics secured the top spot in Africa's smartphone market revenue for the first half of this year, according to market research firm TechInsights. The company's introduction of a flexible payment option allowing customers to pay for devices in daily or weekly installments, tailored to local income structures where monthly salaries are uncommon, played a pivotal role.

In the second quarter alone, Samsung's unit sales surged by 34.8%, despite a 16.6% year-on-year decline in total smartphone sales across Africa. Samsung is projected to maintain its first-place position in both revenue and unit sales on an annual basis, capturing a 38.7% share of sales value and a 34.5% share of unit volume. Despite Africa being the most price-sensitive smartphone market globally, Samsung's strategy focused on offering phones that users can trust for the long term, rather than competing solely on price.

Its Galaxy A series provides up to seven years of operating system and security updates, backed by Samsung Knox security. The company has also expanded its local service network to 281 locations across 38 countries. By addressing the barrier of high initial purchase costs, which often range from $100 to $200 for major Galaxy A models, Samsung enabled payment options in daily or weekly installments, a significant factor in its remarkable sales growth in Africa.

This approach has led to a 46% share of Samsung's smartphone revenue in the region coming from this installment program, with sales of premium Galaxy S and Z series devices in Africa rising by 20% year-on-year.