ENTERPRISE54 – Kirusa, a leading player in voice messaging and social media mobile apps in emerging markets, today announced that it has acquired Ghana-based instant messaging apps provider Saya Mobile, for an undisclosed amount.

Kirusa acquired the technology, intellectual property, and workforce of Saya, which will now be working on its mobile applications, in a bid to enhance expertise and the reach of its #InstaVoice mobile app across the African continent.

“Africa remains a top priority for our business,” Kirusa CEO Inderpal Singh Mumick, said.

“While there has been astonishing progress of the mobile industry, the biggest impact of mobile in Africa is yet to come. We believe there are advantages to building products specifically for this region and have made the strategic decision to acquire Saya in line with that thinking,” he added.

“In launching Saya, we wanted to create a world class product but that was made by Africans, for Africans,” says Robert Lamptey, CEO of Saya.

“Joining forces with Kirusa is a natural and exciting next step for our team. We remain focused on our goal of placing this technology into the hands of and empowering millions of mobile subscribers. We look forward to realizing this vision together with Kirusa,” he added.

Saya CEO Robert Lamptey presenting at Techcrunch Disrupt in 2012

Founded in 2011, Saya has received wide exposure for its real-time ‘#Street Chat messaging application. Based on highly scalable backend architecture, Saya’s platform includes social network integration, location-based and group chat across multiple phone platforms including J2ME, Android and iOS.

About Saya Mobile

Saya is a mobile messaging company with services that cater to high-growth mobile markets worldwide. Its application has brought cheap mobile messaging to people who do not have smartphones in emerging economies. Saya Messenger is used in over 35 countries worldwide with Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, India, and Indonesia being its biggest markets. Saya Messenger cuts the cost of messaging for people in these markets by over a 1,000 times, allowing the people that need cheap messaging to enjoy it. The company was a TechCrunch Disrupt finalist in 2012 and has gone on to win other awards both locally and internationally.