As far back as 2006, the BBC had reported that in July of that year, 61% of its international traffic from mobile devices (a whopping 13.2 million page views in one month alone) was from Nigeria. At that time, I presented that as evidence to convince those who maintained that Nigerians do not use their mobile phones to access the Internet.
Before then, the WAP traffic statistics for our very own flagship site then showed a steady stream of mobile devices accessing the site. I also mentioned mobile-friendly sites like: Esato and Nairaland.
That was two (2) years ago. Has anything changed? Are Nigerians still browsing on their mobile devices? Are Nigerians putting out mobile content on the internet?
Yes; Nigerians are still browsing via mobiles, even more so. With faster mobile connections (EDGE, 3G, and 3.5G), and lower costs, the trend is improving.
Opera’s State Of the Mobile Web Report says, which tracks the usage of Opera Mini (the famous java browser for mobile devices), indicates that traffic from Nigeria is up 1690% since January, 2008. Hello.
WAP Review also reports in the article, Explosion in African Mobile Browsing, that its site’s mobile web traffic from Nigeria was up by 91% for October compared with July. The WAP Review story also provides statistics and information from other sources, and they all speak the same thing: the mobile web is fast gaining ground in Nigeria.
The other question, are Nigerians putting out content for mobile access, is a little more difficult to answer. Yes; there are a few more mobile-friendly sites of Nigerian origin. But the growth in this area is almost insignificant. There are still very few Nigerian mobile sites or mobile-friendly Nigerian sites. However, with enlightenment, this is likely to change.
For example, the Smirnoff Company is currently running a promo in Nigeria, and one of the channels they are utilising is mobile marketing, by placing banner ads on choice Nigerian mobile-friendly sites. That decision was the product of a clear understanding of the trends in the mobile market in Nigeria. They know that Nigerians are browsing via mobiles, but there were very few Nigerian mobile-friendly sites to pick from.
Does your business have a mobile-friendly website, or is still missing out on the huge potentials of the mobile internet market? Are you taking advantage of mobile devices and technology in order to stay connected when out and about? The anytime, anywhere revolution is here.
This post was written by
Mister Mobility – who has written 926 posts on Mobility blog.
Founder, Mobility blog, serial lifestyle entrepreneur, speaker, & writer. Charming, passionate, tenacious & non-conformist. Will dance! Follow him on Twitter @Mister_Mobility.
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