Africa is trying to pick up on the ongoing tech revolution. Its entrepreneurs are developing tech tools to address local problems or improve the existing solutions. In that line, a Beninese entrepreneur -settled in Côte d’Ivoire- recently launched a superphone speaking dozens of African languages. 

On July 9, 2022, tech group Groupe Cerco launched a superphone that can be used by illiterate people thanks to its voice assistant, KONE. Apart from the usual languages (French, English, etc), KONE can speak some fifty African languages. 

“Open [the superphone] has a smart voice assistance that speaks more than 50 African languages and allows personalized voice commands and searches in Dioula, Baoule, Fon, Goun, Yoruba, Wolof, Swahili, Peul, Malinké, Bambara, Hausa…,” said Dr.Alain Capo Chichi, CEO of Groupe Cerco. 

The superphone was manufactured by Ivorian engineers inside the  ICT village Vitib in Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire. It comes with two gigabytes of RAM and 32 gigabytes of ROM as well as a free 16 gigabytes memory card.  Orange, which is Groupe Cerco’s official partner since the launch of Open superphone, offers a free 7.5 gigabytes data bundle to every buyer. 

With Open, Alain Capo Chichi wants to conquer the world, starting from Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, for the time being). By 2023, he expects KONE will understand more than 1,000 languages, covering every local dialect in Africa. 

Currently, the superphones are available in Orange Côte d’Ivoire’s stores at a promotional price of XOF60,000 (normal price: XOF100,000). 

Adoni Conrad Quenum