Africa Smartphone Shipments Post Slowest Growth in 2 Years as Iran War Lifts Costs
Updated
Updated · Semafor · Jun 8
Africa Smartphone Shipments Post Slowest Growth in 2 Years as Iran War Lifts Costs
3 articles · Updated · Semafor · Jun 8
Summary
Omdia said smartphone shipments to Africa logged their slowest growth in two years in the first quarter, with the Iran war cutting availability and pushing handset prices higher.
Rising component costs, supply-chain constraints and weaker consumer demand depressed sales across much of the continent, with the Middle East crisis worsening already tight sourcing conditions.
Transsion, Africa’s top smartphone vendor, shipped roughly flat year on year in Q1, underscoring pressure in the sub-$200 segment that dominates the market.
That low-cost category is entering a structurally tougher phase in 2026, Omdia said, as thinner margins are squeezed by higher logistics costs and a two-year memory-chip shortage.