Financial Sector Development in Africa: Opportunities ... - World Bank

52 Porteous
Figure 2.2
Porter Framework for the Competitive Advantage of Nations
Government
policy and
actions
Firm
structure,
rivalry
Factor
market
conditions
Demand
conditions
Related
and
supporting
industries
Source: Porter 1990.
urbanization is not a sufficient explanation. The lack of widespread
formal electronic banking alternatives may also have helped new
approaches such as mobile to gain traction more rapidly: African countries
in general have low proportions of banked adults and low numbers
of financial touch points such as ATMs or points of sale per
capita. 6 But this distinction is associated more with national income
level than with geography, so it would apply to low-income countries
but not middle-income ones like South Africa or Botswana. While
South Africa has been the birthplace of several second-generation
models such as Wizzit and MTN Banking, these models have largely
failed to take root in a financial system where two-thirds of adults
are already banked and where card-acquiring infrastructure is widely
available. 7 Thus, demand conditions in low-income countries in general,
rather than in Africa specifically, may be favorable for secondgeneration
mobile financial services.
Firm structure and rivalry, at the top of the diamond in figure 2.2,
seem to have played an important role in the lucrative and booming
mobile voice and data markets. The mobile telephony market in Africa
is relatively concentrated: five large MNO groups controlled 62 percent
of all African subscribers in 2010, whereas globally, 20 MNO groups
controlled a similar proportion (70 percent) in 2009. This relatively high