Investment company LonZim PLC (LON:LZM) said its 51 percent owned software-as-a service telecoms group ForgetMeNot Africa Ltd (FMNA) has signed its sixth agreement with a telecommunications provider in Africa, deploying its messaging platform for French speakers in the Republic of the Congo.
The latest deployment is the second with an Essar Group company - Warid Congo joins Kenyan network yu in deploying ForgetMeNot Africa's technology.
Using FMNA's unified messaging platform, Warid Congo is providing access to low-cost internet messaging on first generation, SMS-enabled mobile phones to its entire 450,000 subscriber base.
The deal increases the market potential for FMNA to include French speaking people in Africa, as the mobile email and online chat service now supports the French language.
The partnership with Warid Congo is FMNA's first deployment in Central Africa, following previous deployments in east, west and southern Africa, with a contract signed in Zimbabwe and several more deployments planned. The deployments with Econet Telecom Lesotho, Kenya's Safaricom and yu and Nigeria's Glo Mobile are already providing access to mobile email and online chat for more than 42 million Africans.
Chairman David Lenigas said: This new partnership enables the company to bring mobile email and online chat on basic mobile phones to millions of French speaking Africans as well as Anglophones. This deployment is the sixth contract for the use of FMNA's unique telecoms solution in five African nations in just over a year.
LonZim raised £5 million this week in a placing of 17.8 million new shares at 28 pence and recently reported a massive 88% rise in turnover for the year to 31 August.
“LonZim remains confident that Zimbabwe has great economic potential for recovery and that forecast recovery in the agricultural, mineral and tourism sectors is becoming evident,” Lenigas said when the group announced the latest fundraising.