NAIROBI: Nokia has launched a program to develop mobile applications in Kenya. The mobile phone maker has rolled out a strategy to increase the local content available at Ovi, its app store that currently contains 500 Kenyan developed applications. The firm says it has trained 200 mobile application designers to help companies identify and develop appropriate mobile-based marketing tools to take advantage of the increasing number of Nokia apps users, currently estimated at one million downloads per month in Kenya. “Apps open up a new channel for market visibility and direct consumer engagement. Customers are now doing a lot more with their devices beyond talking and texting, and brands can better reach their clients using apps,” said Agatha Gikunda, the electronic data exchange head at Nokia East and Southern Africa. Companies such as Bata, Housing Finance, Telkom Orange and Safaricom have developed applications available for free download in the Nokia app store. The apps provide information on the firms' products and services, special offers and are also a platform for customer feedback. A survey carried out by research firm TNS RMS East Africa last month established that 19% of Kenyans use their mobile phones to find out more about products they have seen advertised in the media.
