African telecom firms’ revenues generated by mobile advertising could reach almost $1.3 billion by 2016, according to research conducted by Informa Telecoms & Media.

The research firm says that these revenues for mobile operators are forecast to be generated from SMS, MMS, internet search, internet display, mobile apps, downloads and streaming advertisements .

Informa has further said that African mobile ad revenues for telcos hit $136 million in this category in 2012.

Thecla Mbongue, senior research analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, explained to ITWeb Africa that the key drivers of growth for this market include the increased adoption of smartphones, improved advertising platforms and greater awareness among mobile operators.

But Mbongue added that the African mobile advertising market is also largely untapped.

“The growth will be big since we start from very low numbers,” Mbongue said.

Mbongue also added that internet display is forecast to represent less than 40% of total mobile ads revenues in 2016.

Informa’s advertising growth forecasts for Africa are also echoed by media and commerce website eMarketer’s research on global mobile ad spend.

According to a report released by eMarketer this month, mobile ad spend in Africa and the Middle East doubled in size from $3.5 million in 2011 to $7.1 million in 2012. And that number is expected to reach $58.3 million by 2016.

eMarketer’s estimates of worldwide mobile ad spend include display and search advertising only, and exclude spending on messaging-based formats such as SMS, MMS and P2P messaging-based advertising. However, spending on tablets is also included in eMarketer’s estimates.

Africa and the Middle East have further stayed on par with global ad spend, which increased to 8.41 billion from just over $4 billion in 2011 and $2.34 billion in 2010, adds eMarketer.

“Spending doubled in the Middle East and Africa, from a very small base, while growth in the rest of the world’s regions was below average,” read the report from eMarketer.

“Although growth will be moderate this year, double-digit increases in mobile ad spending will continue in coming years and is expected to reach $37 billion by 2016,” the report further stated.