YouTube Go — a data-saving version of YouTube intended to provide offline access in countries where mobile connections are costly and slow — is set to arrive in Nigeria in beta later this year.
YouTube Go officially launched in India in April, and Nigeria represents the service’s second location, reports Quartz. Google CEO Sundar Pichai travelled to Nigeria to make the announcement at an event yesterday in Lagos called #GoogleForNigeria. Nigeria holds great potential for YouTube user growth, given the immense popularity of Nollywood films and Afrobeat music videos. Nigeria has 91 million mobile internet users, according to Quartz.
At the #GoogleForNigeria event, comedy creator Mark Angel received a Gold Play Button for surpassing 1 million subscribers:
Given that many Nigerians limit online video viewing to work, where connections are steadier, per Quartz, YouTube Go will provide a workaround by enabling users to preview and download videos during opportune moments, which also helps save on data costs.
YouTube Go, which was designed with the Indian market in mind and first announced in late 2016, subsequently went into beta in India in February — whereupon YouTube said it intended to expand the app to other countries across South Asia and the Middle East.
You can read more about Google’s latest efforts in Africa on its official blog.
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