CNN‘s Esra Gurkan reports how a new sticker app featuring African characters and pan-African phrases has launched worldwide.
The app, called Afro Emoji, features phrases that are used everyday in Africa. These include Abeg no vex (Please don’t be annoyed), E make brain (It makes sense) and My Oga at the top (My boss at the top).
“”Make Brain/ E Make Sense””
According to Afro Emoji team leader, Ayoola Daramola, the idea was birthed by the fact that Africa, a continent of almost 1 billion was woefully under-represented, which really rubbed him the wrong way, well, until he decided to do something about it.
“”E No Make Sense””
The idea is being managed by Washington D.C.-based iManagement Consulting, which has created over 50 free character stickers
This isn’t the first time an app has been launched for African emojis though. In 2014, a Mauritius-based app company called Oju Africa announced that it was tackling the lack of racial diversity by introducing its own set of Afro emoticons on Google Play Store.
“”Chaii!!!””
The first group of emojis are predominantly West African and have been created to gauge reactions. This is because according to Daramola:
Africans bring noise and exuberance and a saying to practically everything we do.
There are so many cultural nuances and mannerisms from across the continent, what we are looking to do with Afro Emoji is portray them in pictorial form and package them in a way that millions can use and share.
What do you think?
