African emojis are here. Well, they’ve been here. But now there’s a new African-centric sticker app.
Launched in January on Android and Apple devices, Afro Emoji features a wealth of fun and heavily Nigerian-leaning cartoon figures and expressions to share with your friends and fam.
“We, as Africans, definitely have an idiosyncratic way of communicating with one another, and Afro Emoji is really a fun, accessible graphic depiction of that. We are building a modern African hieroglyph that represents us,” says the Washington D.C.-based app’s team leader, Ayoola Daramola. “Mobile is king in Africa/Globally - it is the tool for communication and media consumption, so we expect the Afro Emoji to become a key component in how Africans message and chat, in much the same way as emoji Stickers have become so popular in the East & West.”
Afro Emoji is free to download on Google Play and the iTunes App Store. It includes 50 complimentary character stickers with an option to purchase 300 additional stickers for $1.99.
And for those that might not be as familiar, the app offers a full guide to expressions like “I don vex” (I’m pissed), “abeg no make me laugh” (please don’t make me laugh) and “my oga at the top” (my boss at the top).
Check out a few of the stickers below. Keep up with Afro Emoji on Facebook here.
Update February 4, 2016: A representative for Afro Emoji tells us they're in the process of developing and introducing new characters from other parts of the continent "to give it a genuinely pan-African feel." They're also working to introduce the feature of customizing your own captions so "it is for all Africans at home and abroad."
What characters and sayings do you think should be in the next update? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
All images courtesy of Afro Emoji.