Digital solutions provider Hayo has signed an exclusivity deal with calling app provider Talk360 to enable high-quality and affordable international calling for communities across Africa and around the world.
Hayo provides competitively-priced, high-performance and reliable wholesale voice minutes to Talk360 to enable seamless calling on a global scale. Talk360 delivers these calling capabilities to customers via a user-friendly app interface, offering affordable calls to any mobile or landline number in the world.
“Hayo is focused on enabling on-the-ground innovation that has a positive impact on local people’s lives,” says Feraz Ahmed, CEO of Hayo. “Our partnership with Talk360 shows how we can help to connect African people with high-quality calling that is affordable and reliable. We believe in using our expertise to enable new digital experiences and deliver voice-based communications in new ways.
“For so many people in emerging markets, calling is still essential, and it is great to support Talk360 as it connects people to the services they need, at the right price point. There’s still room for innovation in voice. You just need to have vision.”
The GSMA’s “State of the Mobile Internet 2023” report notes that only 57% of the global population can access mobile internet. There are an estimated 3,4-billion people that are not using over-the-top (OTT) communications services, meaning apps like Talk360 are critical for bridging the gap.
“Hayo is a great partner that understands our mission and what it takes to deliver quality calling across Africa. High-quality calling means that more people can stay connected and benefit from our services. Our services are growing across Africa with the combination of reliability and ease of use. We’ve made it our mission to give everyone access to voice services, and that has meant accepting extremely low top-up payments while offering top-ups anywhere our users regularly shop,” says Hans Osnabrugge, CEO of Talk360.
“We now have a diverse network of digital and physical locations, as well as the world’s first single checkout payment platform combining all local currencies and African payment methods.”
Call credits can be purchased from Talk360 in a variety of local currencies, and more than 200 payment methods are supported by its network of 500k POS in South Africa and its sister company NjiaPay. The receiver of the call does not need to be connected to the Internet, nor own a smartphone. The app can connect calls to 190+ countries, with average call rates ranging from 50-99% cheaper than traditional telcos.