Why BBM is Thriving in Africa

BBM is Thriving in Africa

BlackBerry Messenger, also known as BBM, is thriving Africa, with more than 22 million registered users in the market. Why is BBM seeing extensive growth in Africa, while facing serious hurdles in the U.S.?

Africa is decidedly a mobile-first marketplace, and for many African users, it’s mobile only. The majority of people access the Internet from their phone, instead from a desktop or laptop. With more and more people from the continent joining each year, there’s a huge opportunity for BBM to grab new market share. On BBM for iOS and BBM for Android alone, the company has gains more than half a million registered customers each month, and this rate is growing as there’s increased network availability across Africa. Nigeria and South Africa are BBM’s biggest markets thus far.

In light of the massive customer influx in Africa, with nearly 10 million visits to the BBM Shop per month and over 26 million ad request per day, BBM is refocusing their monetization strategy on the region. As Africa proves to be a key market, BBM recently announced that they would be putting their first ad sales representatives on the ground there.  Why BBM is Thriving in Africa   Why BBM is Thriving in Africa   Why BBM is Thriving in Africa 

Particularly, BBM notes that the advertising demand in South Africa and Nigeria offer some of their largest global opportunities. In these two countries, the company experiences considerable daily ad inquiries, and receives their highest click-through rates in the world. Despite the fact that South Africa and Nigeria are often considered developing economies, BBM has found them to be two of their top revenue-generating markets.

BBM’s international advertisers have followed suit, with large brands like Datsun, KFC, First National Bank, Levi’s, and Lenovo opting in to the platform in the African market. This month alone, BBM onboarded 50 individual advertising campaigns in Africa.

BBM has embraced this vibrant and promising market, by adding local content and value-added services to engage and retain customers, and attract potential advertisers. It’s a new and exciting era for the company in terms of this high-potential developing market.

BBM is Thriving in Africa BBM is Thriving in Africa BBM is Thriving in Africa BBM is Thriving in Africa 

Why BBM is Thriving in Africa