MTN’s instant messaging platform Ayoba has hit 1 million active users. The app is only accessible to users of android devices and it is localized for Africa and the Middle East with some unique features for MTN customers.
A key feature of the app which separates it from other social media and instant messaging apps is that it enables communication with many African languages in some of the countries where MTN operates. Some of the languages include Hausa, Swahili, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Pidgin, and Swahili.
President and CEO of MTN Group, Rob Shuter said, “We believe that our customers in Africa and the Middle East deserve a communication platform that expresses our unique voice, honours our rich identity through local languages, and addresses our customers’ specific needs and challenges by offering a data-included offering for MTN users, Mobile Money transfers (coming soon) and locally relevant content via channels.
“MTN, together with its partners, is driven to improve access to affordable communications to ensure that people in its markets can reap the social, economic and developmental dividends of being online. Ayoba underscores this goal to bring more people into the digital world by providing them with affordable and simplified digital communication services.”
Launched in 2019, Ayoba operates in 8 MTN markets, namely: Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Congo Brazzaville, Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Afghanistan, and South Africa.
People who are not in these eight listed countries can also use the app as it is available across multiple markets on the Google Play Store and via the Ayoba website www.ayoba.me as an OTT offering.
David Gilarranz, CEO MTN Digital said,“Ayoba is also working on building an open digital platform that will enable third-party innovation. This will ensure that we offer a rich diversified experience on the platform, enabling us to deliver more value to our users, empower local developers and create local experiences that are optimised for local communities.”
