Nokia has revealed that it expects to see massive growth in its African markets over the next few years, where it expects to see mobile penetration reach 69% in 2014, compared with just 39% in 2008. The Finnish handset giant expects to see 300 million new subscribers in the continent by 2014, outstripping projected growth in India and China put together. Africa is one of Nokia's key emerging markets, where it currently commands a market share of more than 50% of mobile users.
Significance: Despite its dominance in Africa, Nokia has suffered of late due to a falling share of the lucrative smartphone market. The company has recently announced a fight back to smartphone leadership, pointing out that its Symbian operating system remains the most widely used smartphone platform in the world. The world handset leader announced earlier this month that chief executive officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo will be replaced by former Microsoft employee Stephen Elop, following a series of disappointing quarters. Nokia still controls some 40% of the global smartphone market, but has lost out at the highest end to new rivals such as Apple, Research In Motion, and Google's Android.
