The mobile industry in Sub-Saharan Africa contributed more than $100 billion to the region's economy last year, according to a new GSMA study published at the Mobile 360 Series-Africa conference being held this week in Cape Town.

The new study, "The Mobile Economy – Sub-Saharan Africa 2015," finds that the $102 billion economic contribution in 2014 was equivalent to 5.7 per cent of the region's GDP, according to a press release about the report. Mobile operators directly contributed $31 billion, representing 1.7 percent of GDP. This economic contribution is set to increase over the coming years as mobile operators continue to extend connectivity to unconnected populations across the region and roll out new mobile broadband networks and services. The industry is forecast to contribute $166 billion in value to the region by 2020, equivalent to 8 percent of expected GDP by this point, according to the report.

"The mobile industry remains a key driver of economic growth and employment in Sub-Saharan Africa, making a vital contribution given the population growth and high unemployment levels seen in many countries in the region," said Alex Sinclair, acting director general and chief technology officer at the GSMA. "Despite revenue and margin pressures, local mobile operators continue to invest heavily to extend network coverage to serve unconnected communities and accelerate the migration to high-speed 3G/4G mobile broadband networks. Mobile technology is also playing a central role in Sub-Saharan Africa by addressing a range of socio-economic challenges, particularly digital and financial inclusion, and enabling access to vital services such as education and healthcare."

The GSMA predicts there will be 386 million unique mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa by the end of this year, equivalent to 41 percent of the region's population. The region's subscriber base has grown by 13 percent per year, on average, during the first half of this decade (2010–2015), growing at more than twice the rate of the global average (6 percent) during this period, according to the report.

The region overtook Latin America in 2014 to become the world's third largest mobile subscriber market, behind only Asia Pacific and Europe. The number of unique mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa is forecast to surpass half a billion (518 million) by 2020, representing almost one-half (49 percent) of the region's population by this point.