Kenyans spent more on betting than Nigerians in 2018

Kenya's digital betting spike in 2018, surpassing P2P transfer to become the second most occurring transaction.
Payment of utilities and bills top priority for African consumers as it is the most occurring transactions in the year in the two markets.
Young Kenyans have a slightly better quality of life than their Nigerian counterparts.

The betting industry saw an uptick in Kenya in the year 2018 compared to its West African counterpart, Nigeria, according to a report by REACH.

The report, “Kenya Vs. Nigeria, 2018 Year In Review,” analyses urban African consumers – mostly millennials – covering two of the continent’s largest markets, Nigeria and Kenya.

During the period under review, Kenya's digital betting spike, surpassing P2P transfer to become the second most occurring transaction among young Kenyans – after airtime purchases. This is in contrast to Nigeria where online betting is the least occurring transaction in 2018.

According to the report, payment of utilities and bills top priority for African consumers as it is the most occurring transactions in the year in the two markets.

REACH: Kenya Vs. Nigeria, 2018 Year In Review REACH: Kenya Vs. Nigeria, 2018 Year In Review REACH

Commenting on the report, JR Kanu, Founder and CEO of REACH Technologies tells Business Insider Sub-Saharan Africa on Monday, that the team expect African population growth to coincide with increased urbanisation on consumers.

“We also expect borrowing in Nigeria and Kenya to grow in prominence. With increasing pressures on millennials - societal and self-imposed, consumer credit is primed to fill a void the banks have neglected.

JR Kanu, founder and CEO of REACH JR Kanu, founder and CEO of REACH techcabal

“Similar to Kenya, we also expect online betting to grow in Nigeria, while P2P Transfers will displace ATMs in Nigeria as millennials eschew ATM lines for convenience,” Kanu said.

Here are other highlights from the report:

- GTBank still leads as the bank of choice for millennials, outpacing all competitors in airtime, bank charges and P2P transfers.

- Paystack continues to capture a large share of e-commerce, appearing as the leading biller.

- According to the report, millennials are spending more frequently on Netflix than Silverbird Cinemas.

- Kenya is ahead of Nigeria in its adoption of cashless payments as Kenyans used less ATMs while 1 in 5 urban Nigerian millennials still use ATM withdrawal.

- With 70% of the buying power controlled by men, young African women are disproportionately locked out of meaningful economic opportunities.

- M-Pesa and Safaricom continue to dominate transactions in Kenya.

- Video streaming services, ViuSasa and Netflix, have displaced Century Cinemax and Multichoice among Kenyan millennials.

- Young Kenyans have a slightly better quality of life than their Nigerian counterparts.

- Young Nigerians carried out more taxi transactions (Uber and Taxify) than gasoline purchases at filling stations. Compared to Kenya, fewer young Nigerians can afford a car.

Kenyans spent more on betting than Nigerians in 2018

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!