KaiOS gains Orange support in African drive

Orange has come out in support of KaiOS Technologies, as the telco contributed to the $50 million raised in total during its Series B funding round led by Cathay Innovation.

The cash itself will be used to fuel expansion of the feature phone operating system into new markets, introducing new features and further expanding the KaiOS developer community. To date, there are currently more than 100 million devices running on KaiOS, with a footprint in 100 countries.

“Our mission is to open up new possibilities for individuals, organizations, and society by bringing mobile connectivity to the billions of people without internet in emerging markets, as well as providing those in established markets with an alternative to smartphones,” said Sebastien Codeville, CEO of KaiOS Technologies.

Aside from fuelling an alternative to Google’s Android OS, the partnership between is also geared towards improving accessibility from a device perspective.

“Today the two main barriers to internet access are the lack of infrastructure, for which Orange is investing one billion euros per year, and the cost of the device,” said Alioune Ndiaye, CEO Orange Middle East & Africa.

“As part of our effort to overcome this second barrier, I am very pleased to have this opportunity to develop our partnership with Kai through a direct investment. Providing our customers with access to affordable devices is a crucial step in our ambition to democratise access to the Internet in Africa.”

During Mobile World Congress this year, Kai and Orange launched Sanza, a smart feature phone which incorporated voice-recognition, extended battery life and popular apps as the main features. However, most importantly, the device is sold for as little as $20.

As Ndiaye points out above, accessibility in terms of infrastructure and devices is an issue across the African continent fuelling the ever-expanding digital divide. Africa is a profitable region for Orange, but to grow these profits the telco will have to ensure the internet is accessible to the millions of people who aren’t surfing the digital highways today.