The Nigerian mobile value added service market has witnessed tremendous growth in the past few years and is now worth $1bn (N155bn), our correspondent has gathered.Mobile VAS is a key component of mobile services worldwide and it represents the non-voice services offered by mobile network operators.Experts said mobile value added services had evolved from simple text messaging (Short Message Services) to advanced functions such as mobile entertainment, caller ring back tone, Push-to-Talk, payments, email, instant messaging and m-Commerce, among others.The Chief Executive Officer, Comviva Technologies Limited, an Indian VAS provider operating in Nigeria, Mr. Manoranjan Mohapatra, confirmed to our correspondent that the countrys VAS market was worth $1bn. He added that it was expected to hit $3bn (N462bn) by 2015.I think the Nigerian market contributes between seven per cent and eight per cent to the VAS market in Africa, which is about $1bn. By 2014 and 2015, it will be more than that with a turnover of more than $2.5bn to $3bn, Mohapatra said.According to him, Africa accounts for 30 per cent of the companys revenue and Nigeria plays a very critical role in that.Out of the 150 VAS applications provided in Nigeria, Mohapatra lamented that only 30 per cent had been implemented by three GSM companies - Airtel, MTN and Etisalat.He added that huge opportunities for growth abound in the countrys VAS market with the potential to generate N462bn revenue by 2014.Mohapatra further noted that only a few VAS providers had entered Nigeria because the country was long considered as a hard nut to crack.He said, We came with about 150 mobile VAS applications and out of those, when you look at the Nigerian market, only 20 per cent to 30 per cent have actually been launched into that particular market.So, in terms of potential, there is a huge number of VAS apps that have not been inaugurated in Nigeria.Information Technology industry business intelligence provider, Informa, in a report made available to our correspondent, said that Africas mobile VAS market was worth over $5.5bn in 2010.According to Informa, the market is expected to grow at a strong compound annual rate of around 22 per cent, adding that it was expected to generate over $11.5bn in revenue by 2014.Informa said, Currently, South Africa is by far the largest VAS market, representing a third of the continents revenues with over $1.5bn expected in 2010, to grow to $3.87 in 2014. Other major VAS markets are Nigeria and Egypt (also the continents top markets in terms of mobile subscription numbers), with $9.58bn and $625 revenues respectively in 2010.Nigeria is forecast to grow to $2.01bn by 2014, representing 17.4 per cent of the total African market, while Egypt will grow to $1.76bn, or 15.3 per cent of the market.
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