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An enabler of strengthening the
African Internet ecosystem
Threats blocked every hour
Bringing fast and affordable Internet
access for all has always been Opera’s
mission. To grow together with the
African Internet ecosystem, Opera
is planning to seek local partners to
integrate value-added services, mobile
payment and data bundling into
its browser product. This will grant
consumers access to quality content
and services, giving them the ability to
transact more easily on their mobile
devices. The range of services to be
added over the next 12 months will
create a content and services hub that
will provide African users with a truly
unique experience.
Opera has recently launched its first nationwide television and radio advert
Opera Software invests
$100 million USD to grow
African digital economy
Opera Software, the developer of the most popular mobile browser in Africa, has
announced its plan to invest $100 million USD (30 billion Nigerian nairas) over the
next two years to facilitate the growth of African digital economy. The company
will use the investment to speed up Internet adoption in Africa and strengthen the
Internet ecosystem with local partners.
Africa is on its way to transform itself into digital continent with the rapid
adoption of mobile Internet. For the past five years, the Opera Mini browser has
been a key facilitator in bringing more than half of Africa’s Internet population
online by featuring tools for lowering data costs. Recently, the company
celebrated 100 million monthly users in Africa and is now focusing on making the
next generation of web browsers to cater the needs of African Internet users.
Developing AI-powered news engine with compression technology for Africa
According to a GSMA Intelligence report, the biggest consumer barriers to
Internet adoption in most African countries are the lack of digital skills and
awareness, locally relevant content and affordability. To bring more first-time
Internet users without the fear of high data costs or lack of local relevant content,
Opera invests in developing a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence engine for
smartphone users that will ensure content discovery is at the heart of the browser.
Opera users in Africa will get fully personalised and localised content delivered to
their browser, the entry point for their Internet experience while the data usage
can be reduced up to 90%.
On the other hand, Opera is now working with over 47 top-tier African publishers
covering 107 websites on this initiative.
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“Africa is a very important market
for Opera. Nine of the top 20 Opera
Mini user countries are from Africa,”
says Richard Monday, Vice President
of Africa, Opera Software. “We aim
to invest heavily in Africa, to build
a local platform and grow with
the local business partners. This
platform will expand the user base
for content providers, e-commerce
businesses, operators, OEM’s and
others to strengthen the African
Internet ecosystem.”
Increase awareness of an affordable
Internet experience
The company has also recently
launched its first nationwide TV and
radio commercials to announce a
faster and more affordable Internet
experience with the Opera Mini browser.
The commercials are airing in South
Africa and Kenya, and will be launching
in Nigeria shortly.
New offices to be opened in Nigeria
and Kenya
Currently, Opera has operations in
Cape Town and Johannesburg, South
Africa and is expanding with new
offices in Lagos, Nigeria and Nairobi,
Kenya to support business and product
development. The plan is to hire around
100 people for these offices over the
next three years.
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