INSIGHT
AFRICA: DIG FOR OPPORTUNITIES AND STRIKE GOLD
When it comes to Africa there is a whole continent of potential for those looking to boost their profit margins. Hannah Gannagé-Stewart reports on the findings of an expert panel at this year’ s London Affiliate Conference and discovers how affiliates could benefit from an emerging market
THE RISE OF MOBILE technology has sparked rapid growth in Africa, making the sports-mad continent a compelling prospect for igaming businesses.
For affiliates( unlike bookmakers) the cost of entry is low, particularly if their sites are already attracting African traffic, so there is a real prospect of high-margin returns.
Where affiliates in the UK and Europe might generate profit margins of about 3-5 %, in Africa it’ s not unusual to make 30 %, according to an expert panel at the London Affiliate Conference( LAC) earlier this month.
Income Access’ VP of strategy Sarafina Wolde Gabriel chaired the discussion aimed at affiliates wanting to enter these emerging markets.
Joined by Nairabet. com chief executive officer Akin Alabi, chief marketing officer for Betolimp. co. za Mark McGuinness, and Web Analysis Solutions founder Mathew Symmonds, she began by asking what had triggered such rapid growth in the past couple of years.
Alabi’ s Nairabet has been operating in Nigeria for about nine years, and has recently started seeing decent traffic flowing from affiliate partners in the region.
He said increased mobile penetration was seeing online businesses go from strength to strength in Africa.“ Ninety per cent of those accessing the internet are now doing so through their mobile phones,” he added.
Marry that with increasing internet speeds, more competitive data pricing and the fact Africa is a continent obsessed
“ Where affiliates in the UK and Europe might generate profit margins of about 3-5 %, in Africa it’ s not unusual to make 30 %” with football, and it’ s easy to see the extent of the potential for affiliates.
Likewise, Betolimp. co. za has witnessed rapid growth in South Africa.“ We also have a retail presence, but in our business online has overtaken retail for the first time in six years,” McGuinness said.
Chairperson Wolde Gabriel asked what had triggered such rapid growth in Africa
African market Symmonds is behind affiliate brands WinDrawWin. com and PredictZ. com, entering the African market about four years ago. He now attributes 40 % of his business’ revenue to the continent.
He told delegates that when he first started targeting African countries, 50 % of the traffic was still from desktop. He was informed at the time that this came down to people not having good enough internet connections outside their offices to bet online.
But“ within one year, that went to 85 % mobile. Mobile penetration in such a short time in Africa is just crazy,” he explained.
Despite the obvious opportunities, all the LAC panellists highlighted the importance of understanding the market and recognising that each country comes with a unique set of requirements.
56 iGB Affiliate Issue 68 APR / MAY 2018