Opera Software has launched Opera News, a new AI-powered app which enables people to access news articles and popular videos
The news app features a powerful recommendation engine designed to ensure users can keep abreast on the things that they love to read and watch. Opera News delivers a variety of trending news and entertaining videos and gets smarter with each use. In addition to delivering up-to-date content, Opera News claims to save up to 80 per cent of the user’s mobile data allowance, thanks to Opera’s unique data-saving capabilities.
In 2017, the company outlined plans to invest US$100mn the African market. As part of further expansion plans the company will now implement its “Africa First” strategy, enabling it to develop and launch its mobile products first for the African markets. Opera News becomes the first product to be launched under this new strategy.
“Africa is an incredibly interesting region that will experience an enormous growth over the coming years,” stated Jorgen Arnesen, global head of marketing and distribution at Opera. “Our new strategy means we want to make the very best products for Africans, hence our priority on the region.”
According to Internet World Statistics 2017, there were 388mn Africans online as of June 2017. The Internet penetration in African countries is growing fast with more than 14 per cent growth year-on-year. More than 100 thousand people have downloaded Opera News and it is currently the most downloaded news app in Africa. “African users are among the world’s most avid mobile news readers,” said Arnesen. “Users in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Tanzania enjoy browsing the web to read about their favorite hot topics such as sports, celebrities, arts and culture, politics and life-hacks. With Opera News, we bring a new type of tailored news experience to African users”.
