From this week, Nigerians on the African continent can keep abreast of news relating to their family and friends living in the UK via the Nigerian Watch mobile app, available exclusively on the Nokia App Store. It marks the newspaper’s first foray into mobile publishing as it pushes an increasingly international agenda, say publishers Green World Media.
The Nigerian Watch app was developed specifically for Nokia’s Asha phones, a range of feature phones that allow users to access the Internet, check email and use apps at a much lower price than a standard smartphone. There are no geographical restrictions as the news app is available to anyone in the world using an Asha mobile device.
89% of the population in Nigeria use feature phones and with bilateral trade between the UK and Nigeria on an upward curve, Nigerian Watch saw an opportunity to keep people on both sides informed. With the Nigerian Watch news app, it is now easier than ever for Nigerians, indeed Africans, to keep up with the issues that affect the lives of family, friends and business contacts in the UK, says Green World Media.
Lisa Bowen-Dawes, Developer Marketing Manager at Nokia UK, said: “Our Asha range of phones are doing very well on the African continent, not least because of their ‘full touch’ functionality making them perfect for app consumption. We are delighted that the publishers of Nigerian Watch chose Nokia as their platform of choice for bringing invaluable news content to Africa-based mobile users.”
Maryanne Jemide, Publisher and CEO of Nigerian Watch, says: “It is amazing to think that our news content is now available to read at a click of a button – or ‘touch’ – anywhere in the world. Apart from the UK and Nigeria, we have a strong following in other African countries, including Ghana on the West Coast and Kenya on the East, and our mobile news app now makes it even easier for people to stay informed.
“We have ambitious plans to make Nigerian Watch a success beyond our UK borders and this latest venture into mobile publishing brings us another step closer to achieving that goal.”
