Google has introduced a service in Nigeria that will allow mobile phone users to access their emails through text messaging
The search engine has decided to use this technology to break into the growing Nigerian economy. The step has followed the work of Google’s office in Lagos with local small business owners, which it has said has brought more than 25,000 businesses online over the past year.
Google claimed that its decision to use text messages to reach consumers stemmed from challenges that were being faced by the company in its attempt to set up business in Nigeria.
A statement from Google said, “Though there is good possibility of making money, most people in the country do not have access to electricity, let alone Internet.”
Google Nigeria marketing manager Affiong Osuchukwu remarked, “We don’t want to just come in and start looking for ways to generate profit.
“We consider [sub-Saharan Africa] to be an investment region. We know we have to invest resources and time to develop the market in order for the market to become valuable to us in a way that we can do business,” he added.
Osuchukwu said that Google Nigeria was trying to “develop the ecosystem” by making the Internet part of more people’s lives.
