The rise of messaging apps in Africa 🌍 (and emerging countries)

One thing stood out to me, whether I was in Ethiopia or Kenya: the overwhelming reliance on messaging apps for just about everything.

In most African countries, WhatsApp reigns as the supreme app (see chart bellow).

The exception? Ethiopia, where Telegram takes the lead.

Here are some crazy number to give you a sneak peak of trend:

• Over 50% of African internet users use WhatsApp.

• In Kenya, 97% of internet users are on WhatsApp.

• 75% of Ethiopian internet users prefer Telegram.

• 30% of online purchases in Kenya start on WhatsApp.

• Telegram usage in Ethiopia grew by 40% in two years.

• 40% of Kenyan SMEs use WhatsApp for customer communication.

• WhatsApp and Telegram have a 200M+ combined user base in Africa, with double-digit growth.

• Nigeria has 51M WhatsApp users.

• In Zimbabwe, 44% of mobile internet data is consumed by WhatsApp.

• 60% of the population in Africa does not have an email address.

You can find more data here, the numbers are mind blowing.

More concretely, here’s what people are doing with Telegram and WhatsApp:

• Business deals: Need to buy something? Just send a message. From groceries to booking flights, it’s all handled through these apps.

• Customer service: No need to call hotlines—businesses now resolve inquiries, complaints, and support issues directly via messaging apps.

• Community groups: Whether it’s neighborhood watch or entrepreneur networks, people are creating and joining groups to stay connected.

• Education: Teachers and students use these platforms for remote learning, sharing assignments, and even holding virtual classes.

• Payments and transactions: In some places, you can transfer money or share payment links directly through chat. It’s that simple.

• News and updates: People subscribe to channels or groups to stay informed on the latest news, events, and trends, like having a personalized news feed.

These apps have evolved far beyond just chatting—they’re now the backbone of digital life in Africa.

In a region where 60% of the population doesn’t have an email address, WhatsApp and Telegram have become the primary communication channels.

Even more exciting, Telegram's API and WhatsApp's growing developer ecosystem are enabling companies to build on top of these platforms, creating new opportunities.

We’re seeing a wave of innovation as companies rethink e-commerce and customer support with these tools.

Let’s see what they’re cooking up 🍳.

From E-commerce 2.0 to 3.0 👀

During my stay in Kenya I had the have a lunch with Tesh, CEO at Chpter, a startup helping e-commerce businesses sell through WhatsApp.

Tesh was previously the CEO of MarketForce, a B2B e-commerce company that raised $40M before it collapsed in 2023 when VC funding dried up.

Seeing the massive opportunity WhatsApp offers merchants in Africa, Tesh founded Chpter in 2023.

After our meeting, Tesh shared his pitch deck (they were raising a pre-seed round), and I thought this slide perfectly summarized the idea:

Messaging apps are E-commerce 3.0, and having worked in this space for over 6 years, I couldn’t agree more. Here’s why:

• In E-commerce 2.0, product pages, payments, customer support, and marketing happen in different places. With messaging apps, merchants can manage it all in one unified channel.

• The rise of Generative AI now makes 1:1 personalized experiences possible, which wasn’t achievable before.

• WhatsApp and Telegram are already widely used by most people.

• Messaging apps create a continuous relationship with the brand, unlike traditional websites where the interaction ends once you leave.

• 98% of people open WhatsApp messages, a level of engagement other platforms can’t match.

Just 10 days after our meeting, I saw that Chpter had closed a pre-seed round of $1.2M.

Here is a memo from their investors explaining why they have invested in Chpter.

I have a strong feeling they’re headed for great success.

Time Machine ⏰ - What you probably didn’t now about me..

Since we’re on the topic of messaging apps, I have to share the story of Snipfeed 1.0—the news bot! 😂

Most people know me for the Snipfeed that exists today, but what many don’t realize is that before it became an all-in-one monetization platform, Snipfeed was actually the most-used news bot in the US back in 2018, with over 1 million users!

Here’s a funny throwback photo of our team in 2018:

Back then, we were young and a bit naive. Our focus was purely on consumers, and we had no interest in working with businesses—truth be told, we didn’t even have a proper business plan.

Looking ahead, I believe messaging apps have a huge future. The WhatsApp opportunity could end up being bigger for Meta than even Instagram.

Only time will tell..