Africa has been one of the fastest-growing mobile phone markets in the world over the past decade and a major contributor to the growth is the second-hand smartphone industry.
Current unfavorable economic conditions in African countries, such as high poverty rates, make them viable markets for used phones.
Thousands of retailers in Nigeria, for instance, sell refurbished mobile devices from popular brands like Samsung and Apple, catering to the demand of an increasingly digital-savvy but poor population. The devices are shipped from advanced countries and sold at cheaper rates in markets like Lagos-based Computer Village. Continue reading