Social networks have an important place in Africans’ daily life, despite the continent having a low penetration rate for the Internet and smartphones. In this context, some local tech entrepreneurs have been building African solutions to tap into this market.
Turaco is a social network platform developed by a Central African start-up. It allows users to interact by posting reviews, photos, videos, or even listening to the radio. Founded in 2021 by Gamando Marius Roméo (pictured right), the start-up signed a partnership agreement on Friday, June 30, with the private institute Gutschool. The agreement provides Gutschool with an account on Turaco to publish information related to the university, similar to Facebook or Twitter.
"Turaco is a social network created by a Central Africans for Central Africans, and the goal is to encourage the sons and daughters of this country to use this social network. As in Marketing, the Turaco application is a product and it needs to be consumed. We are trying to boost this application, which is why we are calling on young people of all ages to come to this platform to connect freely and at a lower cost," declared Turaco's founder.
The solution has a mobile application accessible only on Android. After downloading, the user will create a profile and begin interacting with contacts already present on the platform. It is possible, among other things, to contact other users via private messaging, to create discussion groups or join existing ones, listen to the radio, or access information via mass media.
"Through this network, compatriots here and elsewhere can follow the news of the country and listen to several radio stations live. The novelty is that subscribers can already make calls like on Messenger," explained Gamando, three months after the app’s launch.
On Android, the app has been downloaded over a thousand times, and the Central African firm is working to get more people to use the app. For example, it gave out smartphones to top users on several occasions.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
