With information and communications technology (ICT) a core pillar of the goal, we look at the rising stature of the mobile phone in Uganda, focusing on coverage, mobile money, and mobile internet.

The State of Mobile Penetration in Uganda

In official government reports by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), for the first quarter of 2021, mobile subscriptions stood at almost seven SIM cards for every ten Ugandans (67%). According to AfterAccess, less than half (49%) of Ugandans have access to a mobile phone, with 71% of those connected using a basic phone. In 2021, the GSMA estimated that Uganda had a smartphone adoption of 16%, markedly lower than the 30% average for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Datareportal’s January 2021 report showed 60.3% mobile connections in relation to the country’s population, a 4% improvement from their similar report the previous year. GSMA’s latest Mobile Connectivity Index (2019) placed the figure at 61%.

Coverage is also growing. In Uganda, 2G networks now reach nearly the entire population, with mobile broadband networks (3G/4G) covering more than 80% of the country. For the majority of the population, mobile is their first and only platform to access digital services. The extensive area coverage of mobile networks provides a cost-effective option for connecting remote and sparsely populated communities and access to private and government services.

Mobile Money

Another positive contribution of the mobile phone in Uganda has been the adoption of mobile money, which is fast becoming a significant contributor to financial inclusion in the country. By March 2021, mobile money accounts had risen to 30.5 million with at least 66% active in the first quarter of the year – which is twice the continental average of 30%. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, most Ugandans turned to mobile money for their transactions spurred by fee waivers and movement limitations.

The role of mobile money is so profound that a Finscope survey in 2018 estimated that 56% of Ugandans were accessing mobile money services, which is way above commercial bank accounts (11%).

Mobile Internet

At a foundational level, mobile technology provides connectivity to essential communications services and the internet. The growth of mobile internet means that people can use feature-rich digital services on their mobile devices, reducing the impact of much lower penetration of personal computers and other data-enabled devices.

As in most countries in Africa, the mobile phone is, by far, the most used method of accessing the internet. GSMA estimates that, overall, 46% of the population (unique) accesses the internet on mobile. Stat Counter estimates that over 70% of internet connections in Uganda were made on mobile in 2020. For perspective, 90.8% of Facebook users access Facebook through mobile phones only.

This growing reliance on the internet is not without challenges in Uganda. The country introduced daily social media and internet taxes targeting online services, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp. Given that social media sites are the main drivers of Internet uptake across Africa as they are an effective substitute for costly voice and text services, experts say that the social media tax may have negatively impacted mobile penetration and social networking use. Uganda is also one of the most censored countries in Africa online, with internet shutdowns effected during elections.

Conducting Research Surveys via Mobile in Uganda

The mobile penetration in Uganda presents the most plausible way to reach many Ugandans to collect any data. Using modes such as SMS, Mobile Web, Mobile Apps, and voice calls, researchers can reach varied audiences in Uganda to collect vital data for consumer insights and international development. GeoPoll has run close to 7 million mobile surveys in Uganda alone and can help you with your next research project. Please contact us to learn more about our coverage, available modes and experience in Uganda and across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

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Supported by a population of about 103 million, Egypt has one of the largest economies in Africa. The country serves as a bridge between Africa and other parts of the world, particularly the Middle East, making it a key player in the MENA markets. It is this unique position and ongoing reforms that have helped Egypt grow consistently economically. One of Egypt’s growth drivers is an ongoing digital transformation, which we will touch on in this article.

Mobile Penetration Rate in Egypt

Mobile phone services were first introduced in Egypt in 1996. By 2000, about 1.98% of the population were subscribed to mobile phone services. Since then, mobile penetration has grown in leaps and bounds. For the year 2020, the Egypt Ministry of Communications and Information Technology announced that 98.8% of Egyptian households and 95% of individuals owned mobile phones.

According to Datareportal, there were 95.75 million mobile connections in Egypt in January 2021, equivalent to 92.7% of the total population and a 2.9% increase compared to the previous year.

However, we must note that mobile penetration is essentially a grey area in most countries due to a lack of data on unique mobile subscribers. A recent GeoPoll survey on mobile phone usage in multiple countries in Africa and Asia showed that 92% of the recipients owned multiple-SIM phones.

Mobile Internet

Access to the internet is fast becoming an indispensable basic need for most people in the world. With fixed internet connections very low, especially in developing nations, mobile internet has risen to bridge the gap. Over half the world’s population now use mobile internet, with three-quarters of all mobile internet users living in low- and middle-income countries, according to the GSMA.

In Egypt, too, mobile internet usage has been increasing in relevance. Data reports from the government show a steady rise in mobile internet usage in Egypt between 2019 and 2020, increasing from 39 million in the last quarter of 2019 to 52.4 million in the same period in 2020. As COVID-19 affected Egyptians’ day-to-day lives in 2020, the government subsidized mobile internet costs and offered free access to students.

This reliance on mobile internet has, naturally, pushed up the penetration of smartphones in Egypt. International Data Corporation’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker reports that the smartphone market grew 10.6% year-on-year in 2020.

GeoPoll’s Mobile Research in Egypt

GeoPoll has the capabilities to conduct research projects via mobile phones in Egypt. Our platform and partnerships with mobile network operators in Egypt allow us to run surveys via SMS, voice calls (CATI or IVR), in-person (CAPI), mobile web, mobile application, and mobile-based focus groups.

To learn more about our research capabilities in Egypt and beyond, contact us today.

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With the advent of wireless communications in the 1970s, it has now been 45 years since mobile phones first came to be. As mobile technology has advanced, Africa has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of this technology, by constantly redefining its use and creating new applications with which mobile can solve everyday problems. Along with banking and communications, market research is one of the fields that has benefited from this widespread mobile connectivity, but mobile research in Africa still looks very different than it does in more advanced regions.

Tablets and smartphones are common in Europe in the US, but in Africa smartphone penetration is still low: While South Africa has 34% smartphone penetration out of all mobile subscribers, Kenya and Ghana are around 15%, and other countries are lower. That is exactly why simple short messaging service (SMS or text messaging), which can be found even in the most basic mobile phones, remains King when it comes to conducting surveys in Africa.

Below are some of the reasons why SMS surveys remain one of the most effective modes of data collection in Africa. For more information on other modes of data collection and how to identify the best research provider to you, refer to our article on the international marketing research process.

Benefits of Using SMS Surveys for Data Collection in Africa

1. Fast data turnaround

Compared to other data collection methods such as face to face, SMS collects data very quickly and can upload results in real-time, which allows for faster data analysis. Fast data collection is crucial when studying product placement or measuring an ongoing marketing campaign.

2. Ease of response

Participants to the survey can respond to questions at their convenience and on their own phones.

3. Increased access

Due to the nature of the mobile phone which respondents take wherever they are, be it in remote or urban areas, in home or out of home, respondents are reachable for a survey no matter where they are located. This is particularly important as many of these respondents are hard to reach through face to face or internet survey methods.

4. Few device barriers

The respondents do not require a smartphone or have internet (mobile data) to receive or respond to surveys.

5. High response rates

Mobile surveys have high daily response rates depending on the time of day compared to other means of data collection. This is mostly due to the proximity of the phone to the respondent and the ease in which they can take the surveys from wherever they are.

6. Error minimization

Although this might not be the standard for all mobile research agencies, the GeoPoll surveying platform can automatically verify answers are in the expected range and prompt respondents to correct invalid when responses are typed in via the phone keypad.

7. Incentive availability

Even without smartphones, SMS survey tools such as GeoPoll allow participants who take SMS surveys to receive airtime credit upon survey completion. This ensures that survey participants feel valued for their time and that clients are able to get insights faster.

8. Low or no cost to respondent

If the survey solution provider you use has partnered with a mobile network operator, there are often no charges incurred by respondents for participating in an SMS survey. GeoPoll has partnerships with over 85 mobile network operators which allow us to send free-to-the-respondent SMS messages.

GeoPoll has partnerships with over 85 mobile network operators which allow us to send free-to-the-respondent SMS messages.

GeoPoll has been conducting SMS surveys in Africa for over 5 years, and we also facilitate mobile web, mobile app, Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing, and other survey modes. We have a team of experienced researchers and analysts who are able to advise you on the best data collection method based on your research objectives. To learn more or ask questions about an upcoming research project, please contact us today using the form below.

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