Mara Online and Plingm, the Swedish mobile VoIP application provider, have formed a strategic partnership to market a free mobile VoIP app called Mara ConnectTM, allowing smartphone and tablet users across Africa to call and text for free, both domestically and internationally.
In spring this year, the mobile application Mara ConnectTM will be available in App Stores and Google Play across Africa, both for iOS and Android. Calls and texting to all Mara ConnectTM users will be free, regardless if it is domestic or international.
According to Blycroft, 17 percent of the 644 million mobile subscriptions in Africa are smartphones, a number that is expected to grow rapidly over the next years given the increasing number of inexpensive smartphones becoming available on the market.
“This is an exciting mobile technological advancement designed specifically for Sub Saharan African countries. As the African mobile and internet markets expand, we expect that Mara ConnectTM will be the premier choice for connecting people across the continent while reducing consumers’ costs for mobile communication throughout Africa.”, says Ashish J. Thakkar, founder of Mara Group.
The Mara ConnectTM app will be based on Plingm’s existing freemium VoIP application.
Additionally, with this VoIP application, the user is able to call any phone number in the world. Calls and messages within the network are connected for free and calls to other numbers are made possible at low cost via in-app purchase.
Mara Online, a unit the African conglomerate Mara Group, will be the third member of Plingm Alliance, Plingm’s global network of mobile VoIP operators based on the Plingm application. Together, the three members of Plingm Alliance have more than 100 million mobile users worldwide.
“We are committed to making mobile communication free for consumers and profitable for our partners. We welcome Mara Online to Plingm Alliance, the new global network of mobile VoIP operators”, says Pandelis Eliopoulos, co-founder of Plingm.
Mara OnlineTM is a compilation of seven online and mobile technological resources that allow users to communicate, interact and collaborate with each other via a plethora of social media portals in a virtual community. Mara ConnectTM is one of the seven online and mobile technologies produced by Mara OnlineTM.
Plingm is a technology leader in mobile VoIP applications that develops people friendly and cost efficient ways to communicate. The company is based in Stockholm and active in 180 markets.
