The African Press Organisation (APO) has announced a multi-year strategic partnership with IMImobile to provide mobile content to MTN Group, Airtel, Orange, Vodafone Group and Tigo in over 30 countries, with a total reach of 250 million users in Africa.
APO said its partnership with IMImobile combined with its connection to mobile network operators across the continent will enable it to convey an exclusive feed of Africa-related news releases issued by governments, institutions, NGOs, companies, and United Nations agencies to over 250 million mobile subscribers at no cost.
APO founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard pointed to the spread of mobile penetration across Africa as inspiring the partnership.
“According to the latest GSMA Intelligence data from the World Bank and UN, total mobile connections in the Sub Sahara region alone passed the 500 million mark in Q1 2013, increasing by about 20 per cent year-on-year. Connections are expected to grow by a further 50 per cent (250 million connections) over the next five years,” he said.
“The continent’s smartphone market is expected to double in the next four years. In Africa the most effective marketing tool is now the mobile as it reaches the broadest market. IMImobile excels in distributing mobile content in Africa, and we could not have found a better partner to deliver APO content to mobiles.”
APO content, which includes text, images, video, audio and documents, will now be integrated into IMImobile’s DaVinci Evolved Service Platform (ESP) to guarantee multi-channel delivery and superior customer experience to mobile devices in Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, DRC, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
