Nigeria’s commercial capital city of Lagos has emerged the largest market for WeChat, a free messaging and calling app that allows you to easily connect with family and friends across countries. This was announced by WeChat Country Manager (Nigeria), Idemudia Dima-Okojie, in an exclusive interview with Innovation Village.
“In Nigeria, I must say Lagos is the biggest market. Naturally, with more than 15 million people living in Lagos and the Internet penetration here, it is expected that more users will be domiciled here,” he said.
He added that a large portion of WeChat’s over 500 million users come from Asia. He decried the misconception about WeChat’s popularity in Nigeria, hinging it on the strong influence of Western services.
“The misconception on the popularity stems from the fact that we in sub-Saharan Africa are typically influenced by western services (services from North America and Europe); and because WeChat is not originally from the West, there is less awareness in western media, which we (Nigerians) follow,” he said.
According to him, WeChat is now active in the market and partnering with relevant stakeholders and players in the mobile ecosystem to add value to users and the market at large.
“And as we move ahead, you will begin to hear more and more about the impact of WeChat in the Nigerian market,” he told Innovation Village.
