According to projections, Africa will hold over 1 billion online consumers by 2020, more than Europe and North America put together. The forecast was announced by The Boston Consulting Group which also reported that the continent will have more affluent consumers than the UK by the same point, due to increasing wages. With 11,127 people polled across numerous countries, BCG's Stefano Niavas explained that the research offered an insight as to where new investment would have the greatest impact. Speaking about the results in different countries, Niavas said that “understanding these differences is critical when trying to make inroads”.