The Right Mix: Youth Study Reveals The Music that Makes East Africa Youth One.

The recently released Holla study from Consumer Insight has revealed plenty of insights into the
youth of East Africa. Most outstanding of these findings, is the resurgence of local music.
In the face of strong international competition, the study found that local stars - like Diamond and
Jose Chameleon - are still able to hold their ground. Because listening to music is the most
important free-time activity for more than half (54pc) of youth in the region, listening to FM radio
stations is also important at 35pc meaning that stations that deliver the right mix are guaranteed
to grow listenership. Those that throw in music requests into their mix will keep 41pc of Kenyan,
53pc of Ugandan and 35pc of Tanzanian youth tuned in as well.
Bongo Flava, popular with 78pc of youth in Tanzania, and 36pc of Kenyan youth was found to be
the most popular local genre of music. In Uganda, the Dar-es-salaam sourced genre attracts 14pc
of young people. Some would say that Bongo Flava unites the region. Only reggae and R&B come
close to this performance, with the former being equally strong in Kenya and Uganda (37pc of
youth) and the latter being most preferred in Kenya, where 45pc opt for it.
Another shared-value revealed by the study was the desire amongst youth across the region for a
comfortable (materialistic) lifestyle. This desire 'to be rich' was held by 49pc of youth, with
Uganda's young people being the strongest believers; a higher than average 68pc of youth in
their country wouldn't mind having just a little more money. And just where would they keep
these riches? At the bank, naturally.
As the study found, youth banking patterns across Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya were remarkably
similar as well. Generally, youth were found to bank with the larger, more traditional banks, with
perceived stability and accessibility making Equity (46pc), Centenary (42pc) and CRDB (42pc) the
default options in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania respectively.
Of note was the level to which Kenya's youth actively sought sources of money - as indicated by
the 47pc who joined savings groups ('chamas'), in contrast with the 16pc average for the region
(10pc in Uganda and 12pc in Tanzania).
Mobile phone penetration was a second area differentiating Kenya's youth from their regional
counterparts. Continual growth has marked their market, with handset ownership having risen
from 76pc to 86pc over the past three years and SIM card ownership rising from 78pc to 87pc in
the same interval. In comparison, handset ownership in Uganda and Tanzania has stabilised, with
the 60pc penetration level being the ceiling.
But Kenya's youth were not the only ones with distinct traits.

As the study found, Tanzania's young people also display some highly particular and unique
attitudes. Of these, a strong dislike or disinterest in politics and politicians is most striking - with
Nasibu Abdul 'Diamond' being an inspiration for 3pc of those polled, equal to their founding
president Julius Nyerere. Young Kenyans and Ugandans, in contrast, fill their lists of admired
people with presidents and first-ladies.
Another area where Tanzania stood out was the absence of 'dual home' or 'up country' culture,
with only one in three youth having a second home. In contrast, duo home tradition lives on in
Uganda and Kenya at 59pc and 90pc respectively.
Even online dating proved to be a differentiator. While Tanzania's leading dating site is the global
giant Badoo (popular with 33pc), Ugandan youth preferred to keep it local, opting for Kampala
Singles (27pc) while Kenyans took a similar road, 32pc heading to Kenyadating in the digital search
for love. But if the internet divides youth of each country, it also unites them.
Internet usage, the study found, was fairly consistent across the region. Mobile phone is the
default option for access in Uganda (79pc), Tanzania (79pc) and Kenya (91pc). The most common
sites visited by young people are social networking sites, as 23pc of those polled said. Online news
was also found to be quite a draw for young people, with a total of 11pc in the region accessing
digital versions of print newspapers.
Overall, the youth of East Africa are seen to share common attitudes, preferences and
experiences, with one or more unique characteristics marking each country out. Can shared
values overcome these differences, and create unity in the long term? is the big riddle for
leaders, brand marketers and citizens of all three countries.
Holla is a regular Consumer Insights study on youth of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda conducted since 2002.
Data was gathered quantitatively, face-to-face, with respondents aged 13-30 years. Over 4,000 youth were
interviewed in all major towns.
For more details, please contact:
Ruth Ruigu
Senior Research Manager
E-mail: rruigu@ciafrica.com
Office telephone: +254 20 2146540
Cell phone: +254 720 339 631