The rate of installation of finance-related applications in Kenya doubled during the first quarter of 2021.
According to a report by US-based mobile analytics platform, AppsFlyer, signs of pandemic recovery and optimism towards the new 2021 fiscal year led to a massive climb in demand during the first quarter.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, finance app installs surged the highest in Nigeria by 160 percent followed by Kenya at 100 percent. South Africa rose by 52 percent.
On the global front, digital banking app installs rose 45 percent, while traditional banks picked up speed with a 22 percent rise in installs between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.
However, the report notes that Kenya is no longer on marketers’ radars, with marketing trends dropping more than 80 percent in the past two years.
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Marketing-driven finance apps installs in Kenya dropped from 23.1% to just 4 percent between the first quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2021.
This as marketing of finance apps in Sub-Saharan Africa picked pace inspired by the general rise in demand starting in Q4 2020 with over 50% of installs attributed to marketing efforts.
In Nigeria, marketing-driven finance apps have risen by 150% since Q2 2020 and by 33% in South Africa since Q1 2020.
Install fraud rates fell sharply in the region but still remain high on account of significant improvements in anti-fraud solutions and growing awareness to the dangers of app install fraud particularly among finance apps.
The overall app installs fraud rate in Africa dropped to 31% in the first quarter of 2021 from 64% last year.
The report has projected growth opportunities across the globeas demand for finance apps peaks mainly in developing countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Turkey, Pakistan, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia on account of a large population of ‘unbanked’ or ‘underbanked’ users.
