A white paper on mobile trends in Africa, released by online retailer Jumia, has affirmed the dominance of Asian smartphone brands on the continent as smartphone uptake continues to soar.

The research states that the growth of supply from Asian smartphone manufacturers, including Wiko, Huawei and Infinix, is noteworthy - particularly because of the offer of greater choice of devices and a wider range of price points.

"Asian brands have indeed become key brands in Africa and taken over smartphone distribution here," reads an excerpt from the white paper.

It makes specific mention of Chinese brand Infinix which has become the biggest smartphone seller on e-commerce Jumia in Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Egypt.

Other Asian manufacturers doing well in Africa include Samsung and Xtouch in Egypt, InnJoo, X-tigi and Wiki in Kenya, Samsung in Morocco, Itel along with Samsung in Ivory Coast and InnJoo in Nigeria according to Jumia's findings.

Parinaz Firozi, Managing Director at Jumia in Kenya, says the dominance of Asian players and the overall surge in smartphone sales represents a need for businesses to embrace mobile. "Kenya's digital landscape proves beyond doubts that the time is ripe to make mobile the first priority in every business strategy."

The white paper reports that the price points of smartphones in Africa have radically dropped, particularly in Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt.

"The results found when researching the average price of a smartphone sold on Jumia in 2013, compared to the average price of a smartphone sold in early 2016 are enlightening. We observed a drastic decrease of the average retail price of a smartphone in our 3 main markets: In Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya the prices tumbled down from $280 (Nigeria) and $200 (Egypt, Kenya) for a smartphone in 2013 to $100 for Nigeria and Kenya and $85 for Egypt."

The company's research also reveals that in terms of both online and offline sales Asian brands have gained traction in Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Egypt.

"For the period of December '14 to December '15, Samsung remains the top smartphone brand sold in those 5 markets, monopolising more than 50% of each market," says Jumia.