The global media narrative is shifting, and the new storyline is being written in Africa. A pivotal report from PwC’s Africa Entertainment & Media Outlook 2025–2029 confirms that our continent is leading the digital revolution, setting pace-setting growth figures that are attracting worldwide attention.
We are not just catching up; we are building a dynamic, mobile-first future powered by our massive youth demographic and boundless ingenuity.
Setting the Global Pace: The Era of Exponential Growth
The numbers are clear: Africa is the most exciting growth story in the E&M sector, consistently outperforming global averages.
Nigeria, The Powerhouse: Nigeria’s media sector recorded a phenomenal 11.2% growth rate in 2024 and is projected to maintain a leading 7.2% average growth through 2029.
Kenya, The Advertising Magnet: Kenya is home to the fastest-growing internet advertising market in the entire world, poised for a spectacular 16.0% annual growth. This signals huge confidence from global brands, who are rapidly reallocating budgets to connect with Africa’s engaged digital audiences.
Digital Triumphs: This confidence is evident in the shift to digital ad spending. By 2029, Nigeria’s advertising will be 84% digital, confidently surpassing the global benchmark.
This growth is a testament to Africa’s youthful, tech-savvy population, which demands flexible, on-demand content delivered straight to their mobile devices.
The Mobile-First Triumph: Content That Connects
Smartphones are the primary gateway to media consumption across the continent. This mobile-first approach is driving success in high-engagement sectors:
Gaming Ascends: Mobile gaming is flourishing due to its accessibility and affordability. Nigeria is leading Africa's segment growth, while in South Africa, mobile gaming is already dominating the sector.
Streaming Goes Local: OTT (Over-The-Top) streaming platforms are thriving, with Kenya seeing robust growth at an 11.2% CAGR. The market is responding with smart, resilient business models, including ad-supported streaming tiers. This strategy helps platforms reach price-sensitive users, ensuring content access for everyone and expanding the market footprint.
Monetization Ingenuity: In Kenya, the proven integration of mobile money services, such as M-Pesa, with entertainment platforms creates fertile ground for innovative ways to monetize digital content and mobile gaming.
The Untapped Goldmine: Reframing the Connectivity Cost
The report highlights that a large portion of African consumers’ budget goes toward basic internet access. While this represents a current cost, it also reveals the single greatest untapped market opportunity in the global media landscape.
The high spend on connectivity today simply underscores its foundational value. It signifies a massive, ready-to-be-unlocked reservoir of consumer spending waiting to pour into content, subscriptions, and services once the relative cost of data decreases. This presents a clear call for strategic investment to lower data costs, which will directly catalyze explosive growth in the content ecosystem.
The African Innovation Edge: AI for Authentic Storytelling
Perhaps the most exciting shift is the proactive way African innovators are adopting technology to preserve and promote local culture.
AI Localization: African startups are leveraging Generative AI (GenAI) to create content, scripts, and even subtitles in local languages like Swahili and Yoruba. This is a game-changer for producing high-quality, inclusive, and authentic storytelling that respects regional nuances.
Creator Economy: Technologies like AI are enhancing the Creator Economy, empowering individual content producers to monetize their work and tell their stories directly to global audiences.
The future is here, and it is defined by a dynamic convergence of technology, creativity, and market growth that firmly establishes Africa as an influential leader in the global media landscape. By focusing on collaboration, smart investment, and local talent, we can collectively accelerate this growth and ensure Africa fully realizes its spectacular potential.
You can download the full report here