Nokia launches Ovi Life Tools in Nigeria

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

The Nokia 2690

Leading telecommunications manufacturer, Nokia yesterday announced that Ovi Life Tools, its leading emerging market information service, is now available in Nigeria - one of Africa’s fastest growing economies and the continent’s largest mobile market.

The African launch follows hot on the heels of highly successful launches over the last year in Indonesia, India and China. A press release announcing the Nigeria launch said currently, Ovi Life Tools has over 6.3 million users globally, stating that the introduction of the service in Africa further extends Nokia’s reach in emerging markets.

Ovi Life Tools offers a wide range of information services covering healthcare, agriculture, education and entertainment, which address the needs of consumers and helps improve their economic prosperity and quality of life, according to the press statement from the world renowned mobile phone device manufacturer .

“It is a key part of Nokia’s overall strategy to connect the next billion people by providing access to locally relevant services on affordable mobile devices,” the statement said.

Commenting on the launch, Nokia’s head of Mobile Phone Services, Dieter May, said: “This is another important milestone for Nokia as we continue to expand our services in emerging markets. Farmers will be able to check market prices without travelling long distances, people will be able to find important information to stay healthy and students will be able to learn English and improve their general knowledge at their own pace. All of this on easy-to-use and affordable mobile phones.”

“We have made sure that the service is locally relevant. The agriculture service provides prices on 25 different commodities including cocoa, beniseed (sesame) and fish to name a few, and covers all 36 states in Nigeria. But people also want to have fun, so in football crazed Nigeria we have made sure that the news and entertainment service includes the latest results from the European leagues and from the national team,” he added.

May stated further “Affordability is also critical. With almost 30 percent of the population below the poverty line, every cent makes a huge difference to people’s household budgets, so we have set out to build a service that is able to further improve their quality of life for just 1 Euro per month.”

Nokia divulged that from yesterday, people in Nigeria will have access to a wide range of services and information on their mobile phones through Nokia’s Ovi Life Tools, hinting that services available will include healthcare services involving mother and childcare, health & fitness and disease information as well as agriculture services comprising market prices, news & advice and weather.

Others are education services which offers costumers an opportunity to learn English, acquire general knowledge and access exam results and entertainment services which make available football results, music, news alerts, horoscopes and jokes.

The press statement also disclosed that Nokia’s Ovi Life Tools in Nigeria will be initially offered on the Nokia 2690 and on the Nokia C1-01 through two of Nigeria’s largest operators, Zain/Airtel and Glo Mobile, at the price of N250 (€1.25) for the agriculture service and N200 (€1) per month for all other subscriptions, supplying further that more devices will be added in the future.

According to the mobile phone and devices manufacturer, Nokia Ovi Life Tools will be made available countrywide in Nigeria in English, Hausa and Pidgin English.