The African market represents a small chunk of the global market which will pass $15 billion this year, but with on-going difficulties in several other regional surveillance markets, more vendors have applied resource to Africa to take advantage of the market’s future potential.

Both analogue and network equipment markets are still growing in Africa. This contrasts with markets in Western Europe, the US and the Middle East where analogue revenues are forecast to decline.

The South African market was worth approximately $90 million in 2013 and is the largest and most mature market for video surveillance equipment within Africa. However, like many European markets, its growth has slowed in the last few years and is forecast to be at a single digit rate in 2014.

Nigeria is a high-profile opportunity for growth. As Africa’s most populous nation and one of its largest economies the country continues to gain a reputation as an emerging market for a range of industries. Projects in the utilities industry and public sector city and highway monitoring have proved lucrative for some multinational vendors of video surveillance equipment. Yet business in Nigeria is not without its challenges. Concerns over corruption, lack of payment and poor security distribution channels linger. Despite ambitious government plans for video surveillance there is a common consensus the market is still underdeveloped. IHS expects conditions to improve and market growth to increase significantly in the next few years.

Two other emerging markets to watch in Africa are Kenya and Morocco.  Kenya is developing a reputation as an African leader in the emerging technology sector causing it to be dubbed the “Silicon Sahara" by some. The video surveillance market has benefited from the Kenyan technological boom with an increasing number of deployments. Another driver in Kenya includes its government’s efforts to improve the country’s safety reputation in order to coax tourists back to its resorts which have suffered following incidents of terrorism and piracy. Furthermore, Kenya’s position in East Africa means it can be a gateway into the smaller markets of Ethiopia, Tanzania and Mozambique.

Morocco’s improving economic situation led to an increase in video surveillance equipment market revenues in 2013. Deployments in banking and finance, tourism, retail and critical infrastructure sectors drove growth last year. Double digit growth is forecast to continue.

The African market offers lots of untapped potential for video surveillance vendors; currently the size of its individual country markets are small. However, establishing presence in these regions will be strategically important to take advantage of future growth.