Opera enhancing digital inclusion in Kenya through free data campaigns

Popular web browser, Opera, through its flagship product Opera Mini has announced plans to provide free internet access to millions of people in Kenya.

The tech firm says that it made the move in an effort to enhance its presence across Africa.

"Our mobile products and services are developed first and foremost with the African consumer in mind,  we have invested in the region to bring more people online and offer them the fastest and most reliable internet connection," said Mobile Opera Mini Executive Vice President, Jorgen Arnesen.

"Around 40 million people across five countries have benefited from free data campaigns up to now, so we consider it to have had a high impact on fostering digitalization.”

The tech firm also said it has invested heavily into products for Kenya in a bid to make browsing faster, less data-consuming, or free. 

This, it stated, is in partnership with leading local, regional, and global companies to ensure the best online experience to our users

"Our products are specifically designed to cater to local needs, which have garnered positive feedback and significant attention. As stated in our strategy, we’re committed to building solutions with African consumers in mind, so we’re doing exactly that," Mr. Arnesen said.

Other innovations include data saving solutions that seek to address the challenges of high cost of data facing Kenyans.

“To make a proper data-saving browser, we started to successfully install new local servers, including one in Nairobi. The servers speed up online browsing, making the connection times up to four times faster than before when using Opera mobile applications like the popular Opera Mini browser," Mr. Arnesen added.

Opera lists some of the main market challenges as are low digital penetration and limited digital literacy, as well as high data costs and infrastructure limitations.