AFREE App, a new mobile app, has finally berthed in Nigeria, showcasing features for expected innovative user experiences, with the financial empowerment of Africans taken into account.
The App was launched on Monday 29th of July 2024, in Lagos State. The App is limited to African countries and users.
Dr Alakija Temitope, senior lecturer, Department of Statistics, Yaba College of Technology, who is part of AFREE App team in Nigeria, spoke about the unique features of the App, and she explained thus: “The name AFREE encapsulates the five main objectives of the application. There is A, which means Assist; our main mission is to help people become more independent, free, and educated. The F stands for Finance; we are committed to improving the financial well-being of our users.
“The R stands for Reward; this is us rewarding those who are committed to growth, learning, and self-improvement, but lack the means to do so. There is also E, which stands for Empower; this means empowering people to freely express their opinions as long as it does not conflict with the law and ethical standards. While the E stands for Educate; providing access to new knowledge, skills, and careers.”
The National Coordinator AFREE for Nigeria, Dr. Joshua Orabiyi, who has spent 17 years in Russia, where he had all his education, up to his PhD, is also a lecturer at the University of Lagos State.
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He said that the mobile app although close to existing ones, has other unique features.
He said: “AFREE is unique from other social networks because of its focus on people’s benefit. The application provides an independent platform for information and expression without the risk of censorship.
“We also help users become more independent and financially literate. All the necessary functions – watching videos, sending messages, making calls, and advertising – are combined in one application.
“What we mean by pan-African social network is that AFREE was created to unite everyone in Africa on one platform, freeing them from total censorship and giving them a voice. We are also helping to improve lives, business development, and learning, ultimately promoting unity, equality, and prosperity on the continent.”
Seun Dakota, Media, and Publicity, AFREE Nigeria, complementing Orabilyi’s comment, said that with a single bar of the network, AFREE App works, stressing that it is easy to use, even for the younger and older generations, and does not consume data.
He added: “All user data is encrypted and stored on servers in Africa. For security reasons, we are unable to provide further information.”
Abati Joel, who is a representative of AFREE in Nigeria, said: “The creation of AFREE was a response to the total censorship of existing social networks and media, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic. We also wanted to help people who want to learn, develop, and create businesses, but do not have the opportunity to do so.
“Many social networks created by Africans have not had the success they deserve. What do you plan to do to become part of Africans’ daily lives? Many African social networks have failed because they do not provide real value.
“AFREE proposes to improve the financial situation of users by monetizing within the app. Part of the advertising revenue will be used to support small and medium-sized businesses within the app, and the AFE coins received can be used for advertising campaigns and the purchase of training materials.
“We are currently targeting 10 million users and are already implementing plans to scale further.”
Dr Alakija Temitope, senior lecturer, Department of Statistics, Yaba College of Technology said that AFREE provides a web platform and application for creating profiles, adding friends, publishing and sharing content, interacting with it, likes, comments, reposts, participating in chats and groups, and making video calls.
“Algorithms are used to personalise content according to interests and to monetise the viewing and creation of content. There is a mechanism to launch advertising campaigns for businesses and freelancers,” said Alakija.
She further explained: “AFREE translates a portion of the advertising revenue into AFE Coins, which users can earn for watching videos, creating content, and participating in challenges.”
The lecturer revealed that the idea behind the AFREE App was hatched in 2019 when the founders met in an online game before the COVID-19 epidemic.
She mentioned: “They continued to communicate without knowing each other’s real identities, and came together due to similar principles and understanding of total censorship in social networks and media. In April 2020, they decided to create AFREE, an app where everyone could express their point of view.
“They developed the terms of reference but were faced with lack of money. The parents of one of the creators offered to lend the initial capital on the condition that part of the revenue would be used to help people in Africa. After gathering a team of freelancers and a few other investors, the project was launched.
“We are now focusing on improving the performance of the app in poor internet signal conditions so that it can be used everywhere. The next step is to improve the AFREE Bazar feature for small and medium businesses and launch the full AFREE Education feature, which is currently in beta.”
According to Orabiyi, the next step will be to open offline “stores in Nigeria to sell our mobile phones and tablets that are specifically designed to work perfectly with the app. We are carefully selecting components to ensure that the devices are as compatible with the software as possible and are reasonably priced.
The Lagos State Commissioner For Youths And Social Development, represented by Otayemi Oluwaseun, described the AFREE App as an innovation, urging youths to key into it by downloading the App. He said that the App can only continue to be updated when users key into it and share their experiences and challenges.
He also noted that Nigeria is lucky to have Nigerians currently propagating such an app in the country.
The launch was attended by lecturers, undergraduates, secondary students, network providers, and journalists.
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