Opera, the developer of popular web browser, Opera Mini, is set to invest 100 million dollars in improving Africa’s digital economy over the next two years. The company will use the investment to speed up internet adoption in Africa and strengthen the internet ecosystem with local partners.
This investment will see Opera Mini expand its portfolio in Africa. Opera Mini is currently in South Africa and will expand to Nigeria and Kenya in next few months. The plan is to hire around 100 people for these offices over the next three years.
Speaking on the new investment, The Vice President of Opera Software, Africa, Richard Monday, said:“Africa is a very important market for Opera. Nine of the top 20 Opera Mini user countries are from Africa.”
“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.”
On his part, Lin Song, The Chief Operating Officer and Chief Security Officer for Opera said: “Bringing fast and affordable Internet access for all has always been Opera’s mission. We want 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”.
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. Opera Mini currently has over 229 million users globally with 56% of them on mobile.
The company has also recently launched its first nationwide TV (see below) 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.
