Zoopy, an online and mobile social media community, where users upload, share and interact with videos, photos, audio and notes will soon be making its footprints in Nigeria and around the African social media space.

Based in South Africa, the company which was launched in March 2007 was selected by Nokia as their Regional Imaging Partner for South Africa in December 2007 and recieved 40% investment (now increased to 75%) from Vodacom, South Africa’s leading cellular network in June 2008.

According to MyDigitalLife.co.za, Zoopy’s CEO, Jason Elk says Zoopy will leverage Vodacom`s technology and reach into the (African) continent in order to tap into the market.

Elk is adamant there is a large enough market for social media in Africa. He points to countries such as Nigeria and Kenya, which he says have burgeoning online communities. Zoopy`s goal is to target those communities with its suite of mobile broadcasting services.

Following this report, I joined Zoopy and got in touch with Jason, who confirmed to me that (in his words):

We’re starting to explore African markets this year and are just as excited at growing our
community into the rest of the continent.

My Opinion

If Zoopy launches in Nigeria sometime this year, it could change the face of social media, raise the standards of online communities and drive steady competition in the market. The Nigerian online community is increasing everyday: Facebook has attracted over 200 000 Nigerians; Naijapals claims over 150 000 members online; the Startups Nigeria community (to be launched soon) hopes to build the largest web and mobile community of entrepreneurs and developers.

In fact, the future of social media in Nigeria is now. It’s time for companies to take advantage of this trend and invest in social media startups from Nigeria that are creating a buzz in the new media space. And like Jason said, “Companies are now looking at talking to those communities which are directly related or interested in their products.”

No doubt, what happened between Vodacom and Zoopy is a great example of how Nigerian telecommunication companies could invest in the Nigerian social media space in order to reach the web audience and thus market their products.

Nigeria Is Talking About Social Media…Are You Listening?