Opera is expanding with new offices in Lagos, Nigeria and Nairobi, Kenya to support business and product development and plans to hire around 100 people for these offices over the next three years to transform Africa into a digital continent with the rapid adoption of mobile internet.
This announcement is part of Opera’s plans to invest $100 million over the next two years to facilitate the growth of African digital economy and speed up internet adoption in Africa and strengthen the internet ecosystem with local partners.
Currently, Opera has operations in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa and for the past five years it has been a key facilitator in bringing more than half of Africa’s internet population online by featuring tools for lowering data costs.
“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.”
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.
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 is also working with over 47 top tier African publishers covering 107 web sites on this initiative.
Opera sees itself as an enabler strengthening the African internet ecosystem by bringing fast and affordable internet access for all. 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.
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