Bloomberg reports that Swedish phone app developer, True Software Scandinavia AV (developers of the Truecaller app) is in a discussion with wireless operation, Bharti Airtel Ltd. And MTN Group on how it hopes to expand its spam-filtering service across Africa.
In an interview in Cape Town yesterday, the Chief Commercial Officer, Ted Nelson Truecaller disclosed that the company is set to unveil a new version of the app that 2G phones can accommodate. This is aimed at accommodating a larger number of mobile phone users. Following a recent survey, about 70% of the phones used in Africa are not smartphones.
Currently, the spam-filtering service has over 50 million users globally and wants to accommodate more users, especially in Africa. Nelson said:
‘We have partnered with Bharti Airtel in India and will also partner with them in Africa. Africa is a very important market for us and currently, South Africa, in particular, is our fastest-growing market.’
Truecaller detects the source of an incoming call, thereby protecting mobile phone users from spam calls and messages. If a number has been saved by a user who has the app installed on their phone, the bot saves the name for future references, thereby protecting its users. In a way, the app assures security to an extent, which is in many ways, the greatest threat to technology.
According to a recent study commissioned by the tech firm, South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt are among the top 10 countries where unwanted calls prevail, making it a target for Truecaller to penetrate further. Nelson said further that the firm is looking towards having an office commissioned in Africa pretty soon. ‘We are only looking for the right talent to make this happen’, Nelson said.
Nelson also mentioned another feat which the spam-filtering app has reached in India. In the absence of traditional bank, users can now use the app for mobile money transfer without the use of banking codes or passwords.
The spam-filtering app is really attending to the most needs. While India has been targeted for money transfer due to its popularity, Africa is a target for Truecaller’s extension, due to the prevalence of unwanted calls. Very recently, Truecaller disclosed how its app has successfully helped Nigerians to block over 20 million spam calls. A great move, it is.
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