Nokia has partnered with Airtel in a deal that will see its the latter’s subscribers across the continent access cheaper value added services from the phone maker.
The agreement will see Airtel subscribers in Africa access Nokia Life Services, Xpress Browser and Nokia Store Operator billing for purchases made on Nokia Ovi store in specific African countries.
Speaking on the partnership, Olivier Mas, Head of Solution Sales, Nokia Middle East Africa, said: “Nokia’s commitment to Africa goes beyond the provision of quality mobile phones. Our focus is on bringing real consumer value through relevant content and services and by igniting the local ecosystem to do the same.
“Partnerships are a critical part of this strategy and we are pleased to be working closely with Airtel Africa to deliver on our consumer promise.”
Nokia Life is a rich format short messages service that provide consumers timely, relevant and personalised information at a lower cost than any other service. The information is in education, agriculture, healthcare and lifestyle, a service that has been used by over 95 million people in 18 local languages.
Nokia Xpress on the other hand is a cloud-based browser that is said to compress 90 per cent of information viewed online, at the same time enabling faster browsing speeds using its cloud-acceleration technology.
Andre Beyers, Chief Marketing Officer for Airtel Africa, said: “There are huge opportunities throughout Africa to transform how people communicate and how communities interact. Delivering on that opportunity through mobile communications for everyone is our focus.”
The Nokia Life services, which are already in Nigeria, will launch in Kenya before end of April.
