African super app ayoba has reached a new milestone – surpassing 30 million monthly active users. This remarkable achievement is a testament to the app’s growing popularity, particularly in focus territories such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.
Moreover, ayoba has successfully broadened its user base into new markets, such as Kenya and Tanzania, contributing to its rapid growth since passing the 25M MAU mark in May 2023.
“Ayoba’s growth reflects our commitment to delivering valuable, user-focused services. This achievement is a significant step in our ongoing journey to deepen connectivity and digital inclusion across Africa and signifies the trust and reliance users have placed in ayoba as a platform that enriches their daily lives. It also serves as a catalyst for further innovation as we continue to enhance the app’s features to meet the diverse needs of our growing user base,“ says Jens Schulte-Bockum, MTN Group Chief Operating Officer.
In 2023, ayoba focused on enhancing communication and content features. These have been well received, as evidenced by a notable increase in music streaming, messaging, and overall user retention. Card Views in the channels vertical have soared, with users viewing over 200M cards this year alone, focusing on news, sports, and comedy. Ayoba also recently announced its first commissioned video drama series, ‘Nite Nite’, produced in Ghana and its inaugural African games, produced by Usiku Games in Kenya.
“Our plan for the year is rolling out strongly, “explains CEO Burak Akinci. “ We’re incredibly grateful for the trust and engagement from our growing community of users. Our strategic execution this year has been laser-focused on what matters most to them. The positive market response validates our approach to offer user-centric features and localised content. As we look ahead, our immediate focus is on an enhanced gaming experience set to pilot in South Africa. This is part of our broader vision to make ayoba an integral part of daily life across the continent.”
The introduction of the new ‘Explore’ landing page marks a significant advancement for the Android version of the app. This page is live across all key markets, streamlining content discovery and user access to relevant and trending content.
In line with its commitment to sustainable long-term impact in key markets, ayoba continues to advance its integrated ecosystem development approach revolving around the MicroApps vertical. This quarter has seen the launch of a key initiative in Nigeria, the ayoba SME Accelerator program. Specifically designed to digitise, empower, and accelerate the growth of small businesses, the program aims to foster innovation, enhance competitiveness, drive growth, and create sustainable employment opportunities.
Furthering its impact, ayoba’s e-Track Portfolio, managed at the Solution Space at the University of Cape Town, has also seen significant success. The program – a two-phase early-stage venture acceleration and capacity-building program designed for high-impact entrepreneurs in South Africa and beyond, has recently welcomed an additional 15 high-impact startups to the portfolio.
In May 2023, ayoba hosted a high-profile continent-wide Gaming Hackathon to foster innovation and creativity in game development tailored for an African audience. The event attracted hundreds of participants, and the top 3 teams have been selected. Their games are soon to be featured on the app, adding to ayoba’s expanding gaming portfolio.
Born from a partnership with MTN, ayoba is available on all networks. Ayoba users in certain participating territories enjoy complimentary daily data, amplifying its value proposition*. With this momentum, ayoba is on track to achieving 100 million monthly active users by 2025, in line with MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy.
*VoIP and video call are not zero-rated for MTN subscribers
About ayoba
10 REASONS TO USE AYOBA:
1. FREE TO USE: Ayoba is free to use, and this includes all our amazing features. You need data to get onto the internet, but if you are on the MTN network, you will get free data every day to use the app (except for MTN users in Benin).
2. CHAT AND CALL NOW: Instant text and voice messaging, voice notes, and voice and video calls with any of your contacts. Note that voice and video calls will consume user’s data bundles.
3. SECURE: End-to-end encryption means that messages in a conversation cannot be read by anyone else.
4. FIND YOUR FRIENDS: Use your existing address book to connect with your contacts quickly and easily.
5. CHAT WITH EVERYONE: Send SMS text messages to anyone in your contact list, regardless of whether they have installed ayoba or not. If your friend does not have the app, the message will be delivered by SMS, and their SMS response will be delivered to your app. This is a unique technology.
6. GROUP CHAT: The more the merrier! Set up group chats to easily communicate with friends and family in a single chat.
7. SHARING IS CARING: Share videos, images, audio, and other files with your contacts.
8. LET’S MEET: Share your real-time location with your ayoba contacts.
9. CHANNELS: Free access to a variety of Africa-centric content, all within the ayoba app. From news, sports, fashion, music, education to entertainment – watch the Adamant channel for the best of francophone and anglophone humor, Scrolla Africa in IsiZulu, Yoruba & Hausa, Pulse Channels for Nigerian and Ghanaian business news coverage, current affairs, entertainment and much more.
10. LISTEN AND PLAY: Our free music service powered by BoomPlay allows users to listen to trending local and international songs in our fantastic playlists. We have games that you can play as well – Mama Mboga, DJ Doger, Simba, Masaai Mkali, Afridoku and more. New content is added every day.
Since its launch in May 2019, ayoba has reached millions of users, with a current active user base of 30 million monthly active users. It offers users free access to an ecosystem of digital and rich media services through channels, microapps and payment solutions, embedded within an African super-app.
Ayoba is highly localised and tailored for African consumer needs, supporting 22 relevant languages. Users can send and receive encrypted messages, share photos, videos, files, and voice notes, and can also subscribe to live channels. Family-friendly localised content is available through curated channels aimed at entertaining, educating, and empowering communities. There are also a range of games. ayoba is available for Android users on the Google Playstore, Apple Store, PalmStore (Transsion), Huawei, and BeMobi stores as well as the ayoba website (ayoba.me).
About the MTN Group
Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our customers. We are inspired by our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code ‘MTN’. Our strategy is Ambition 2025: Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress.
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