Last checked at 27 May 2010 14:49
27 May 2010
LONZIM PLC
('LonZim' or 'the Company')
ForgetMeNot Africa enters into agreement with Kenya's largest telecoms Operator
LonZim Plc, (AIM:LZM) is pleased to announce that ForgetMeNot Africa Limited ("FMNA"), the Company's 51% owned subsidiary, has entered into an agreement with Safaricom, Kenya's largest telecoms operator, which enables Safaricom to provide email and online chat access via mobile phones available to over 15 million people in Kenya.
David Lenigas, Executive Chairman of LonZim, commented:
"We are extremely pleased with the progress that ForgetMeNot Africa has made. The demand for services such as the Kipokezi service is rapidly growing across sub-Saharan Africa. FMNA is well placed to enter this market with its unique expertise and knowledge base. Safaricom is a great partner with a significant subscriber base, providing FMNA with considerable access to the Kenyan market. Elsewhere in Africa, we see similar potential for FMNA as the telecoms market in countries with limited internet access continues to grow and thrive. We view this as a significant opportunity to introduce this technology to provide the people of Africa with cheap and easy access to email and chat."
The new Kipokezi service is being rolled out by Kenya's largest telecoms operator, Safaricom, suppliers of mobile phone connectivity for almost 9 in 10 Kenyan mobile phone subscribers. The service will be available to Safaricom's entire subscriber base and is provided by ForgetMeNot Africa, a specialist in unified messaging systems for telecommunications operators. ForgetMeNot Africa's unique Handset Initiation (HI) technology bypasses the need for Internet access and the latest handsets to offer an email service to all mobile phone users, even those in the remotest of areas.
Over 15 million mobile phone subscribers in Kenya - over a third of the country's population - will now be able to access email and online chat regardless of the make and model of their mobile phone. All standard phones with the ability to SMS are being transformed with the new Kipokezi service bringing low-cost email and chat within the reach of millions of Kenyans, improving communications with their friends and families, both at home and abroad.
The most recent figures from the ITU, collected in 2008 and prior to the launch of Kipokezi in Kenya, show that fewer than one in ten resident Kenyans had accessed the Internet. Now over a third of Kenya's population will be able to exchange email messages and online chat messages wherever they are and whenever they wish.
Safaricom CEO, Michael Joseph, said: "This service packs great value to our customers. They will be able to handle their business online, check mail, find information, chat and keep in touch from wherever they are in a fast and cost-efficient manner. The price of internet-ready phones has kept many Kenyans off the web, a trend we are determined to change. This innovation is also at one with our constant strategy of increasing the utility of the mobile phone and expanding the reach of our data product."
ForgetMeNot Africa's Chief Operating Officer, Jeremy George, said, "Almost four years ago, Safaricom revolutionised money transfer and storage in Kenya with the launch of its mobile money service enabling users to send, store and receive money through their mobile phones. Today they are giving all Kenyans the opportunity to bridge the rural-urban digital divide by giving them cheap access to chat and email services on standard mobile phones, without the need for an Internet connection, data plans or expensive handsets."
For further information, please contact:
| LonZim Plc |
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| David Lenigas | Executive Chairman | +44 (0) 7881 825 378 |
| Geoffrey White | Chief Executive Officer | +44 (0) 7717 307 308 |
| Emma Priestley | Executive Director | +44 (0) 7867 785 177 |
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| WH Ireland Ltd: Nomad and Broker |
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| James Joyce |
| +44 (0) 20 7220 1666 |
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| Pelham Bell Pottinger |
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| Charles Vivian |
| +44 (0) 20 7861 3126 |
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| +44 (0) 7977 297 903 |
| James MacFarlane |
| +44 (0) 20 7861 3864 |
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| +44 (0) 7841 672 831 |
About ForgetMeNot Africa
ForgetMeNot Africa Ltd. is a "software as a service" (SaaS) company specialising in unified messaging that supports seamless interoperability between SMS, email and Instant Messaging clients for telecommunications operators. The core product is Message Optimiser which allows telecom operators to immediately provide cost-effective comprehensive unified messaging services to all of their customers without any upgrades to the device or any need for downloading new applications onto the device. This opens up a range of previously inaccessible services to many of their customers including 2-way email and 2-way instant messaging communication capability.
About Safaricom
Formed at the turn of the decade followings the liberalization of Kenya's telecoms sector as a joint venture between globaSl leader Vodafone of the UK and the government of Kenya, Safaricom has firmly established its credentials as a regional leader, spawning a virtual telecoms revolution in Kenya.
Growing from its cradle in mobile voice services, Safaricom has evolved into a total telecoms company. The firm, which has a subscriber base of over 15 million, offers all communications services under one roof: mobile and fixed voice and data services on a variety of platforms: Kenya's widest 3G network; a growing fibre optic cable footprint and WIMAX technology.
For more details please go to: http://www.safaricom.co.ke