African telcos are moving to adopt e-SIM cards

AFRICAN BUSINESS AND ECONOMYSeptember 27, 2023 at 2:35 PM UTC

African telecommunications companies are aggressively embracing virtual SIM cards as they aim to capitalize on the burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) market while phasing out traditional plastic subscriber identity modules (SIM).

Notably, MTN and Airtel have recently extended this offering to their subscribers in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. In a significant move, MTN South Africa has expanded eSIM access to all its subscribers over the past month and entered into a long-term partnership with global IoT connectivity solutions provider Eseye. This collaboration is set to standardize a global eSIM and IoT platform, enabling MTN to offer a diverse range of IoT services, including connectivity, IoT bundles, and value-added services, to cater to customers' global IoT requirements.

The multi-year agreement with Eseye encompasses South Africa and 18 other African countries, including Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Botswana, and Zambia, where MTN operates, signaling a broader pan-African IoT deployment on the horizon.

Points clés à retenir

Prominent handset manufacturers such as Apple and the Huawei spin-off, Honor, have unveiled plans to introduce high-end mobile phones and devices featuring embedded SIMs to the African market, with South Africa as their initial target. A UK-based research firm, Juniper, has forecasted substantial growth in the global eSIM market, projecting it to expand from $4.7 billion in 2023 to $16.3 billion by 2027. This growth is primarily fueled by the increasing adoption of eSIM-enabled consumer devices worldwide. Africa is poised to be a significant player in this growing market as it embraces the latest advancements in mobile technology. According to the IDC Worldwide Semi-annual IoT Spending Guide, global spending on IoT is on track to surpass the $1 trillion mark by 2024. This report also identifies South Africa as one of the fastest-growing IoT markets within the Middle East and Africa region.

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