• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • Startups
  • Funding
  • Sponsored
Hype PR BP IMG1 R1

Opera launches Hype, its New Dedicated Chat Service in Africa

2 months ago
Android OS - techbuild

Top 4 Android OS Problem and how to stop them

12 hours ago
Rita Dominic - techbuild

LG Signs Rita Dominic as Brand Ambassador of its Home Appliance Products

19 hours ago
Founder Institute
Flutterwave - techbuild

Flutterwave partners Forter to curtail Merchant Fraud in Africa

24 hours ago
Cashless Africa - techbuild

Takeaways from Cashless Africa Virtual Event

24 hours ago
GirlEng Technovation Camp - techbuild

GirlEng Technovation Camp 2021 opens to Young African Girls

1 day ago
Peach Payments - techbuild

SA Startup Peach Payments secures Undisclosed Funding

1 day ago
Imalipay - techbuild

ImaliPay deploys Technology to improve the Financial Health of African Gig Workers

2 days ago
Gender lens investing - techbuild

Gender Lens Investing: A Key to Driving Inclusion in Entrepreneurship

2 days ago
Ghana Tech Labb

Undergraduate? Register for Mobile App Development Training by Ghana Tech Lab

2 days ago
MSME DIALOGUE 3 FLIER2

MSME Dialogue 3.0: Experts to offer Insights on Tech & Digital Transformation

2 days ago
Revix

SA Fintech Startup Revix closes $4M for EU Expansion

2 days ago
StartupBAS - techbuild

Yison Tech Hub hosts StartupBAS for Ghanaian Entrepreneurs

3 days ago
Founder Institute Founder Institute Founder Institute
  • Home
  • About
  • Partners
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Signup to receive updates
  • en English
    en Englishfr Frenchar Arabicsw Swahilipt Portuguesede Germanes Spanishig Igboha Hausayo Yorubazh-CN Chinese (Simplified)
Innovation | Startups | Funding | Tech Blog in Africa
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Startups
  • Hubs
  • Funding
  • Women Tech
  • Interviews
  • Blockchain
  • Forum
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Startups
  • Hubs
  • Funding
  • Women Tech
  • Interviews
  • Blockchain
  • Forum
No Result
View All Result
Innovation | Startups | Funding | Tech Blog in Africa
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Opera launches Hype, its New Dedicated Chat Service in Africa

Hype is the first African inspired chat service built into a mobile browser

TechBuild.Africa by TechBuild.Africa
23rd February 2021
in News
Hype PR BP IMG1 R1

Hype will first launch in Africa, where Opera has nearly 150M MAU, with Kenya as the pilot market; With Hype, Opera reimagines the chat experience, with content sharing as a key feature; Opera Mini, with more than 100M users worldwide, becomes the world’s first mobile browser with an integrated chat service.

Today, Opera the Norwegian browser developer is announcing the launch of its new dedicated chat service Hype, built into mobile web browser Opera Mini.

With the introduction of Hype in the Opera Mini browser, Opera is rethinking the concept of mobile browsers providing its users with a personalized, engaging browsing experience that enables seamless surfing, chatting and sharing content– without compromising speed or driving increased data consumption.

Speaking on the launch, Charles Hamel, Product Lead for Hype said:

“Chat services and browsers are apps people use every day and feel very personal about.

“With the integration of Hype in Opera Mini, we are not only rethinking what a chat service should be like in 2021, but also changing the very definition of what a mobile browser should be.”

Hype is launching first in Kenya as a pilot market, where starting today, users will be able to easily set up their Hype account and start chatting with secure end-to-end encryption.

This launch is a facet of Opera’s emphasis on investing and growing its digital ecosystem in Africa, with the goal of bringing more people online; since 2018, Opera has grown its user base in Africa by 40%.

“Hype was developed first and foremost with African consumers in mind. Today, 40% of the Kenyan population has access to smartphones, with younger generations dominating as 75% of their 47 million inhabitants are under 30 years old,” said Hamel.

“With such early adopter demographics at play, there is massive potential for the growth of Hype in Kenya. On top of that, we are also partnering with the leading telecommunication carriers in the country, offering daily free browsing to all Opera Mini users. We believe the combination of these factors will lead to the rapid adoption of Hype in the country.”

This announcement follows similar browser innovation from Opera, which was the first to integrate messenger services as part of their PC browser, in 2019.

Today, more than 80 million users enjoy the integration of services such as Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Whatsapp, Instagram and Twitter.

Share online content in a snap

The way people communicate is constantly evolving. Today, new generations are relying on new formats like memes and stickers to express themselves, often relating to pop culture references and internet content they find.

To make this easier and fun, Hype brings WebSnap, a feature previously known from the Opera desktop browser, that allows users to take snapshots from the web.

Once a Websnap is captured, users can edit it by adding colors, text, and emojis, making it fun and entertaining before sharing with others.

WebSnap also allows users to smoothly share the link of the original website from which they took their snaps. This comes in handy as users no longer need to copy links from websites and switch between apps to share the content they want.

Designed in collaboration with local artists

Hype is the first African-inspired chat service built into a mobile browser. It offers its users a series of stickers created by Kenyan artists Brian Omolo and Lulu Kitololo.

These unique collections of stickers reflect everyday expressions used by Kenyans to provide users with a more engaging experience when communicating with others.

“We are extremely happy to celebrate African culture with Hype and we are very excited with the end result and the collaboration we had with Brian and Lulu.” said Hamel.

“These unique stickers with original designs are something we are very proud of at Opera as we become the first major browser to integrate real African art and pop culture into our products.”

Current messaging services were created almost a decade ago, and none of these has ever focused on having such a collaboration with local artists to make online conversations more engaging.

This unique offer from Hype stands out from other chat services and enables Kenyans with the ability to express themselves more accurately when using chat apps.

Africa First: Initial adoption starts in Kenya

The introduction of Hype in Kenya is part of Opera’s Africa First business strategy, adopted three years ago by the Norwegian company.

This strategy consists of four main pillars:

  • Develop products with African consumers in mind;
  • Invest and grow Opera’s digital ecosystem in the African region to bring more people online;
  • Partner with leading global and regional companies; and
  • Employ and collaborate with African colleagues and stakeholders.

The latest population census in Kenya, published in 2019, reported that the country is strongly youthful.

Of Kenya’s 47 million inhabitants, 75% are under 30 years old, with children and adolescents representing 63% of the total population.

“Hype was developed first and foremost with African consumers in mind. Today, 40% of the Kenyan population has access to smartphones, with younger generations becoming early adopters of technology.

With such demographics, there is massive potential for the growth of Hype in Kenya.”

On top of that, we are also partnering with Safaricom and Airtel, the leading carriers in the country, offering free daily browsing to all Opera Mini users.

We believe the combination of these factors will lead to the rapid adoption of Hype in the country.”

In Q4-2020, the Opera user base reached 380 million monthly active users (“MAU’s”) worldwide, with nearly 150 million MAUs based in Africa.

Since the announcement of Opera’s Africa First strategy in Q1-2018, Opera has grown its user base by 40% in the African region.

This rapid growth in the region gives Opera a unique position to scale its digital ecosystem infrastructure and leverage its brand awareness and recognition.

Opera also gives more value to its users thereby introducing new products and features that truly address the needs of its users locally.


Don’t miss important articles during the week. Subscribe to techbuild.africa weekly digest for updates.

Join @techbuildafrica on Telegram

Related Posts

Tomisin Fashina - techbuild
News

Meet Tomisin Fashina, the New Group Executive, Operations & Technology of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

1 week ago
Accelerex - techbuild
News

Accelerex hits New Milestones, offers Customers more Digital Payment Options in Ghana

3 weeks ago
Peter Ndegwa Safaricom CEO 1
News

Safaricom and Nokia launch first Commercial 5G services in East Africa

3 weeks ago
WhatsApp - techbuild
News

Africa’s Mobile Users in no hurry to leave WhatsApp Despite increase in Cyber Risk Awareness

3 weeks ago

SIGNUP FOR UPDATES

RECENT

  • Top 4 Android OS Problem and how to stop them
  • LG Signs Rita Dominic as Brand Ambassador of its Home Appliance Products
  • Flutterwave partners Forter to curtail Merchant Fraud in Africa
  • Takeaways from Cashless Africa Virtual Event
  • GirlEng Technovation Camp 2021 opens to Young African Girls
Join Founder Institute Join Founder Institute Join Founder Institute
ADVERTISEMENT
Innovation | Startups | Funding | Tech Blog in Africa

© 2013-2021 techbuild.africa. All Rights Reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • WE-Forum
  • Blockchain
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms

Follow us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Startups
  • Hubs
  • Funding
  • Women Tech
  • Interviews
  • Blockchain
  • Forum

© 2013-2021 techbuild.africa. All Rights Reserved.

en English
en Englishfr Frenchar Arabicsw Swahilipt Portuguesede Germanes Spanishig Igboha Hausayo Yorubazh-CN Chinese (Simplified)
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.