In Southeast Asia, India emerging market Internet trends tell a story of the communications revolution. So says Mary Meeker of KCPB, a venture capital firm. Meeker’s 2016 exhaustive Internet report, recently released, points to India and China as the two biggest innovative countries to watch. Download her report’s PDF file here.
Much has been written about Meeker’s fascinating yearly Internet reports. It’s hard to believe that in 1995 only 35 million people around the world had Internet access!
in 2015, three billion people connected to the Internet, many using mobile devices. To discover where and why four billion people don’t have access, read this article that clearly explains one of Meeker’s slides.
India Internet Penetration Expands Rapidly via Mobility
In 2015, India became the second largest Internet market, dwarfed only by China and exceeding the United States.
Amazing. The second largest country in population became the second largest Internet growth market increasing 40% vs. 33% year-over-year.
277 million Indians now have Internet access. Half of the Indian population is under age 27, creating a huge market for smartphones, the Internet, and other non-durable goods.
To help readers understand the enormity of the mobile Internet’s impact among India’s 1.2 billion people and others throughout Asia, I’ll summarize the key trends and changes revealed in Meeker’s study. View Meeker’s review in the video below.
Emerging Market Internet Trends in India
- Worldwide Internet growth slowed to 9%; counting India, however, growth dropped to 7%
- Smartphone user expansion slowed significantly in 2015 but grew 52% in Asia Pacific and 40% year-over-year in India
- A McKinsey report shows that Internet adoption in developing countries such as India is more challenging compared to developed nations, due to income, infrastructure, government regulation, and other factors
- Average price of a smartphone in India was $158 (2014); prices must be kept low to increase affordability
- Internet growth helps innovative companies increase country prosperity worldwide especially in emerging markets like India. FinTech that integrates software and mobile over the Internet for financial transactions is expanding rapidly in India.
- Android phones dominate the market, due to lower cost; yet Apple just announced, due to relaxed government rules, it may open its first retail stores in India
- Learn more about India, financial inclusion, FinTech, and emerging market Internet trends by reading related articles on OpenFinInc
