African smartphone shipments fell 7 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, the first decline in three years, as rising device prices squeezed affordability across the continent, according to a report by Forbes Africa. The pain was concentrated at the bottom of the market: shipments of devices under $100 plunged 34 percent, nearly 3 million fewer units, while performance varied sharply by country. Egypt's market contracted 26 percent after manufacturers raised prices roughly 50 percent since January, Nigeria fell 11 percent and Kenya dropped 15 percent, while South Africa's market actually grew 17 percent.
Industry figures pointed to rising memory costs and AI-driven disruptions in chip supply chains as the main drivers pushing affordable devices further out of reach. Notto CEO Dalumuzi Mhlanga said a smartphone is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for participating in the African economy at all, framing the affordability squeeze as more than a consumer electronics story. Payshiga Technologies CEO Oluwatobi Oseni argued the fix has to focus on lowering the total cost of digital access, not just the device price, through bundled data and service packages.
Seamfix Executive Director Frank Atube warned that fewer people accessing digital services through their own devices will force a rethink of how identity verification and digital services are delivered altogether. Proposed fixes circulating among industry players include device financing plans, bundled connectivity packages, alternative credit scoring built on mobile-money transaction history, and closer collaboration between manufacturers, network operators and fintech firms to assemble genuinely affordable packages rather than relying on falling hardware prices alone.