Kenyan IM startup Ongair has opened its Southeast Asia HQ in Hong Kong China with a view of expanding into mainland China where WeChat is hugelly popular.

The firm announced that one of the main reasons for choosing Hong Kong as its HQ, is the high penetration rate for Instant Messaging in the country with Hong Kong being the third highest percentage of WeChat users after China & Malaysia.

Company CEO, Trevor Kimenye said, “Hong Kong is the perfect launch pad for our S.E Asia expansion. Being right next door to China and enjoying efficient, stable and dependable business systems as well as access to globally attractive talent makes it an ideal location for us.”

Last year the firm raised a round of funding led by Nest which is headquartered in Hong Kong and a huge supporter of the expansion into the East.

Nest COO, Lawrence Morgan said, “By establishing a physical presence in Hong Kong, Ongair has committed to Asia and is demonstrating a very clear intent to grow the business across the region. We are excited to help them build out a network and support the company’s marketing efforts.”

Nearly 10 million businesses use WeChat & WhatsApp to interact with their customers. Ongair’s move into Hong Kong is set to target these businesses and provide them with a reliable, customizable and feature-rich platform to engage their clients via Instant Messaging.

Ongair already has several clients in Hong Kong such as online food delivery business FoodPanda and the travel concierge service TravelFlan among others. It has also eyed working with firms such as Ogilvy and Bluebell group.