Opera, the developer of popular Opera Mini and Opera browsers, have set an office in Kenya. Techweez reports that the company has also appointed Eddie Ndichu a former head of Digital Service and Mobile Payments at KCB Bank Group, as Managing Director/Vice President for Fintech Africa.
The Kenyan office will serve as East Africa’s hub with plans to hire 100 Africans Africans over the next 3 years. Those hired will be trained on web development to help in the growth of Opera’s products via artificial intelligence for smartphones to ensure content development.
In December Opera announced that it had developed its own artificial intelligence (AI) engine to provide users with relevant content in a smart way. The AI system studies users’ news-reading behavior in real time and learns from it in order to provide them with a personalized news offer.
Read>> Opera’s newsreader service exceeds 100 million monthly active user mark
“The AI engine is designed to instantly provide personalized and localized content, right at their fingertips. We are thrilled to see such rapid growth both in terms of users and actual usage of the service.” Jan Standal, VP Product Marketing, and Communication at Opera said.
Techweez also reports that Opera will invest up to $100 million USD over the next two years to facilitate the growth of African digital economy. This move will use investments in heightening internet penetration and adoption, as well as strengthening the internet ecosystem with local partners.
