REVIEW: New African-developed messenger app seems better than WhatsApp, but there are "buts"

Hafiz Alhassan Kanu

There is no doubt that various Africans are pushing the frontiers of innovative and replica app developments with a focus on building solutions that are unique to Africa and that will inspire the development of more homegrown solutions to meet the continent's many needs.

The latest of such is social messaging application, Supfrica—a replica app that is comparable to Facebook's WhatsApp. But it is said to be twice as fast. Better, right? 

The app is currently offered on Google Play Store by appfrica, but is the brainchild of Techfrica's Sierra Leonan owner, Mr. Hafiz Alhassan Kanu. 

It is a freeware, cross-platform messaging and Voice over IP (VoIP) service which allows users to send text messages and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other media. And like WhatsApp, users need an active internet connection. 

However, the app does not seem to be based on code and template that are original to its developers—it looks too much like WhatsApp. 

But Supfrica's biggest selling point right now is that it is said to be two times faster than WhatsApp—according to multiple media sources. However, we cannot readily confirm that this is true at the moment.

Some of the app's features include:

Supfrica supports seamless voice and video calls like WhatsApp via all network types. 

You can create groups with up to 256 members.

You can create statuses, just like in WhatsApp. 

Unlike WhatsApp, you can forward messages to more than 5 recipients at a single time on Supfrica. Better, right? 

Unlike WhatsApp, if you use a dual sim phone, only those that have the particular number that you registered with can view or message you on Supfrica. 

Unlike WhatsApp, Supfrica does not yet offer end-to-end encryption. This is not good. 

Unlike WhatsApp, Supfrica currently has no provision for you to change your phone number, or to delete your account. 

The app is currently rated 4.4/5.0 on Play Store, and already has more than 100,000 downloads as at the time of this publication.

Click here to download the app from Play Store.