Chinese mobile browser launches in Kenya

Chinese mobile browser UC Browser has launched in the Kenyan market. According to data from Statcounter, UC Browser is the second most used mobile browser globally with a market share of 20 per cent. “Riding on the smartphone shift, UC Browser crafted a flurry of features, such as Smart Downloader, Video Player and Gesture Support, to exploit the versatility of the smartphone, making mobile browsing easier,” says Kenny Ye, General Manager of Global Market, Alibaba Mobile Business Group. Kenya currently has a total of 37.8 million mobile subscribers with almost 40 per cent of them using smart-phones. “Like their Asian counterparts, African growing population of young mobile users is a mobile-first population and users adopt their smartphones as their primary internet-enabled device.” Opera has a huge lead in Africa, primarily due to the Opera Mini browser. Chrome comes in a distant second, while UC Browser is in third place.