The Explosive Growth of Africa’s Digital Entertainment Industry

As the digital entertainment industry grows globally, a lot of it translates to Africa as well. As we move closer to technological accessibility and availability across the entire region, entertainment sectors of all sorts are bound to experience change and mostly a positive one.

But just how big is this change? What are the leading sectors of African entertainment, and what influence do or do we not have on the global market? All of these questions will hopefully be answered below, as this article aims to bring you relevant data and information while going over the biggest sub-sections of the overall entertainment market in Africa.

Overall Data and Statistics

All the talk about change and growth does not come from thin air, as you might have guessed, and according to various sources, the overall entertainment market is projected to reach the size of 4.6 billion USD, demonstrating a massive, consistent 15% annual grow that started in the year 2020.

This growth rate is actually incredibly impressive, even on a global scale, and if we observe specific regions of Africa, things get even more fascinating. For example, Nigeria is expected to see the most impressive growth, with entertainment and media revenue projected to more than double its size from 2022 to the year 2027, at a 16.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Amazingly, this rate of growth would rank amongst some of the highest in the entire world.

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Of course, this success is not limited to just one area of the continent, if we observe other regions, such as Kenya for example we continue seeing consistent growth rates. For that region, it is projected to experience an overall entertainment market growth of roughly 50% from 2022 to 2027.

As for South Africa’s entertainment and media market, it is also expected to see healthy growth, outpacing the global average, though growth stabilized to 8.8% in 2022 after rebounding 15.4% in 2021 from the pandemic. These specific examples are more than enough to bring home the point that the entertainment industry is on the rise across the entire continent.

Gaming and Social Media

As promised, to get into leading sectors of the overall market, let us start first with social media and its rapid spread across Africa. According to sources, the continent’s usage rate and active social media accounts surpassed 380 million even by 2022.

Some of the more recent statistics that thoroughly explore this subject show that surprisingly, at least in the South African region, WhatsApp is the most commonly utilized social media service (93%), followed closely by Facebook, and not so closely by TikTok and Instagram. 

As for the gaming scene, firstly, it is important to mention the booming casino scene active in Africa. Operating under standard business models, often getting players hooked through various gambling bonuses, and hoping to get them to stick around through the quality of service, reputable African gambling establishments are up there with the global peak standards. 

Numbers-wise, around 40-50% of the total casino revenue comes from the South African section, contributing to a not-so-even split across the major regions. Overall, the gambling scene in Africa is a mix of physical casinos and a growing mobile/online sector, driven by increasing mobile phone and smartphone ownership across the continent.

Music: The Heart of African Entertainment

African music has always been a cornerstone of the continent’s cultural identity, but in the last decade, it has experienced a never-prior-seen growth in global popularity. Genres like Afrobeats, Amapiano, and Gengetone have transcended borders, with artists such as Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Tiwa Savage achieving decent international stardom. The success of these artists has paved the way for lucrative record deals, sold-out concerts, and collaborations with global superstars.

Numbers-wise, Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya are the leading music markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in total revenue, as the music section continues growing at an impressive annual compound rate of around 9%.

Undoubtedly, the rise of digital streaming platforms has played a crucial role in this expansion. Services like Boomplay, Mdundo, and Audiomack have made African music more accessible than ever before, both within the continent and globally.

Film and Television: Nollywood

Famously, Nollywood is only behind Bollywood when it comes to the annual amount of films produced, but does the demand correlate with this supply? By local standards, the film and television section is massive, with many of the African stars attaining well-deserved local recognition. There are plenty of well-received and successful African films that come out at a high volume, so the customer always has something new to enjoy.

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Streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime have recognized the potential of African content, investing in original productions and acquiring rights to existing films and series. This will hopefully open up new avenues for African filmmakers and actors, while also exposing global audiences to the talent present in Africa. Numbers-wise, while this is not concrete, according to UNESCO estimates, The African film industry has the potential to create over 20 million jobs and contribute $20 billion to the continent’s combined GDP annually. Obviously, if realized, this potential can have a massive influence on the quality of life improvements across the entire continent.