A new study by Pyramid Research indicate that mobile social network usage in Africa & the Middle East (AME) is increasing at an exponential pace, and mobile network operators (MNOs), handset manufacturers and developers could all benefit from that. Excerpts of the report title “Africa and Middle East Insider, Volume three, May edition” published on it website noted that among all the mobile value-added services, mobile social networks would drive demand that could help rejuvenate the revenue growth curve for mobile operators and other third parties in the ecosystem. "Mobile social network usage in the AME is increasing at an exponential pace, and MNOs, handset manufacturers and developers could all benefit from mobile social network proliferation," the report quoted Ronda Zelezny-Green, Associate Research Analyst at Pyramid as saying. Pyramid believes MNOs could easily devise innovative ways to help youth and young adults consume more mobile data by leveraging their growing appetite for social networks and media. "Beyond increased data revenue generated from increased social network usage, creative mobile advertising and mobile money partnerships with mobile social network companies have the potential to generate additional revenue streams for MNOs in AME," noted Zelezny-Green. "There is great demand for mobile social networks in AME among youth and young adults," says Zelezny-Green. "Ensuring the expansion of mobile broadband service offerings and tailoring mobile data plans for optimal mobile social networking usage could help build brand recognition among this market segment in the region," she added. Story by Samuel Nii Narku Dowuona/Adom News/Ghana