Kirusa acquires instant messaging apps provider, Saya Mobile

Representative of the company's increasing commitment to the region, this acquisition enhances Kirusa's expertise and the reach of its InstaVoice mobile app across the African continent. As per the deal, Saya will now be working on Kirusa's mobile applications.

"Africa remains a top priority for our business," says Inderpal Singh Mumick, CEO of Kirusa. "While there has been astonishing progress of the mobile industry, the biggest impact of mobile in Africa is yet to come. We believe there are advantages to building products specifically for this region and have made the strategic decision to acquire Saya in line with that thinking. Since its inception, Saya has focused on delivering compelling messaging applications that enhance the mobile user experience and are tailored to the mobile consumers in emerging markets, and more specifically, in Africa."

By Africans, for Africans

Founded in 2011, Saya has received wide exposure for its real-time "Street Chat" messaging application. Based on highly scalable back-end architecture, its platform includes social network integration, location-based and group chat across multiple phone platforms including J2ME, Android and iOS.

"In launching Saya, we wanted to create a world-class product but that was made by Africans, for Africans," says Robert Lamptey, CEO of Saya. "Joining forces with Kirusa is a natural and exciting next step for our team. We remain focused on our goal of placing this technology into the hands of and empowering millions of mobile subscribers. We look forward to realising this vision together with Kirusa."

"Having known Kirusa's management for years and supported Saya since its launch, MEST couldn't be more supportive of Saya becoming a part of a company led by such industry visionaries", says Neal Hansch, Managing Director of the MEST Incubator program in West Africa.