PRESSXXX RELEASE
Partnerships that bring complementary services and technology can enable the growth of superapps in the region, says Economist Impact study • Telcos, ride-hailing companies and online marketplaces are all diversifying to become part of superapp industry, specifically in the Middle East and Africa • The second in a two-part report series commissioned by Mastercard Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, the paper was developed by Economist Impact, the research and analysis arm of The Economist Group • Study further reveals important lessons, not just for technology firms poised to become super-apps but for existing players too, particularly those in the financial services industry
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he digital transformation of business and society has found fertile ground with early promise for the super-app model, specifically in the Middle East and Africa, even as mobile digital platforms continue to offer proprietary and thirdparty functions under a single brand. The second in a two-part report series commissioned by Mastercard Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, and carried out by Economist Impact, titled The super-app model in the Middle East
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and Africa: Partnering with incumbents, harnessing new technologies, examines the super-app business model closely and the factors shaping their growth. The report reveals that with digital technology and easy availability of affordable mobile devices, the marketplace for goods and services has shifted away from the physical world and onto the mobile devices in consumers’ pockets. Companies today are delivering a host of services – from ride-hailing to e-commerce, money transfers to
education — directly through mobile phones, accessing consumers who were previously hard to reach. Now super-apps – apps that combine many functions in a single application – are taking the proposition even further. “While the region gets to grips with the technologies and business models that have transformed global business over recent decades, it must also prepare for the next waves of innovation and digitalisation, especially in the area of mobile financial services,” said Ngozi
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