Telecom Lead Africa: Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said Nokia Life services and Xpress Browser will become cost effective for its mobile users in Africa.
An agreement between Nokia and Airtel incorporates areas such as the provision of Nokia Life services, Xpress Browser and Nokia Store Operator Billing for purchases from Nokia Store in key countries of Africa.
Olivier Mas, head of Solution Sales, Nokia Middle East Africa, said: “Our focus is on bringing real consumer value through relevant content and services and by igniting the local ecosystem to do the same.”
A key part of the agreement is the provision of Nokia Life services, already available in Nigeria and launching in Kenya this month. The services, which are delivered as SMS messages, bring personalised information to consumers at lower cost than other sources.
Information is customized and designed to meet basic needs in areas such as education, agriculture, healthcare, livelihood and even spirituality.
Since its launch in India, Nokia Life has expanded to several countries and has been experienced by more than 95 million people in 18 local languages.
The potential for Nokia Life in Africa is enormous and, following on the success of Nigeria, Nokia and Airtel are pleased to now extend this to the East African market, starting with Kenya.
Andre Beyers, chief marketing officer, Airtel Africa, said: “There are huge opportunities throughout Africa to transform how people communicate and how communities interact.”
Airtel said integrated billing solutions for Nokia Store in both Nigeria and Kenya will enable users to download content from Nokia’s mobile application store and pay for their downloads through monthly mobile phone bills and prepaid vouchers.
The third area of collaboration is around the provision of Nokia Xpress Browser for Airtel customers in Nigeria and Kenya, delivering internet.
