Dip ahead, but PCs set for healthy growth in Africa

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) personal computer (PCD) market, which is made up of desktops, notebooks, workstations and tablets, is expected to decline 2.4% year on year in shipment terms during the second quarter of 2021, according to industry analysis conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC). The global technology research and consulting firm’s latest Worldwide Quarterly PCD Tracker shows that a total of 5.5 million units will be shipped across the region in Q2 2021.

“The decline is primarily due to the fact that a massive tablet deal that was delivered into the education sector of Egypt during Q2 2020 is unlikely to be repeated in Q2 2021,” says Fouad Charakla, IDC’s senior research manager for client devices in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa. “However, we are seeing continued robust demand for notebooks, with shipments of these devices expected to grow 20.3% year on year in Q2 2021. 

“The surge in PC demand that was triggered by the pandemic has benefitted notebooks the most. We expect this trend to persist despite the ongoing shortage in supply of notebook components, which is expected to last for at least another couple of quarters.

“Looking at 2021 as a whole, we forecast overall PCD shipments across the MEA region to grow 4.8%, spurred by increasing demand from both home users and commercial end-users. And from a product category perspective, we expect notebooks to be the biggest contributors to this growth.”