MTN Group on Thursday disclosed that its instant messaging platform, Ayoba, had reached 8 million monthly active users as of June 2021.
Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers said Ayoba has added 2.5 million new users since December 2020.
MTN said the instant messaging platform has now been integrated into 18 MTN markets.
“We rolled out an updated version of Ayoba, which includes music, gaming, channels and money transfer services.”
In Nigeria, MTN’s biggest market and Africa’s populous market, the digital business continued to gain traction on the back of a strong partner ecosystem and the uptake of products and services.
MTN Nigeria’s digital revenue rose by 88.1%, also supported by rich media and value-added services.
“The active user base rose by 38.0% to over 3.9 million, led by Ayoba, with more than 2.3 million active users.”
Ayoba is an advanced communications application localised for African and Middle East consumer needs, under an independent Over the Top (OTT) brand with unique features for MTN customers.
MTN launched its instant messaging platform, Ayoba, in March 2019.
The app features peer-to-peer private messaging, which is end-to-end encrypted. Ayoba treats data with the utmost care and respect in line with its privacy policy, said MTN.
Ayoba users can send and receive encrypted messages, share photos, videos, files, voice notes and even their location, and can also subscribe to live channels. Localised content is available through these channels that aim to entertain, educate and empower communities.
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