Top 10 African Social Networks

10 Africanzone – The site acts as a dating site while also offering business to business services. African men and women looking for love and romance can connect on the site and business people can use it to list their business and as a marketplace to sell products and services.

9 Blueworld – is a South African social community where users can create a customisable online presence for and make new friends. It also offers a wide variety of interactive tools including photo tagging, video sharing, blogging, status updates and band profiles. The site is geared towards younger participants and has a fun and neatly-ordered feel to it.

8 Africanplanet – Again this platform offers members both personal and business services. It’s a place where people can connect with other Africans from across the continent and they can also seek therapy and vent some spleen on the popular Afrotherapy page. Here, subscribers can rant about their love lives and discuss a range of more personal topics such as abortion.

7 Afroterminal – Is aimed at keeping Africans across the world in touch with one another through discussions and live chats. Users can download images and videos and use forums for staying in touch and discussing hot topics. It has a highly interactive flavour.

6 Bongoline, is the online community for Tanzanians from a wide range of backgrounds. The site publishes and discusses content on many issues which affect the Tanzanian community. It was founded on the basis of simplicity and functionality and aims to make negotiating the site far easier than many of its competitors.

5 Yookos – Initially founded in 2011 by Chris Oyakhilome, the leader of a church organisation called Christ Embassy International, it was used primarily by church members. However, the site now has some 10 million registered users across the globe and claims despite is Christian roots it is a meeting place for everyone regardless of politics, religion or gender.

4 Twitter – South Africans are the most active Twitter uses on the continent and currently the site has  1.1 million registered users in SA alone, while the next big African nation to enjoy tweeting is Kenya closely followed by Nigeria, Eygpt and Morocco.

3 Linkedin- The site enjoys similar popularity as Twitter, although as elsewhere in the world is primarily seen by Africans as a recruitment networking site. It offers primarily business and professional networking services.

2 Facebook – Loved around the globe, Mark Zuckerberg’s social networking site is equally enjoyed by Africans. Figures from 2011 show at that time it was  used by 80.7 percent of internet users across the continent and has undoubtedly grown since then.

1 MXit – is South Africa’s most popular social network with in excess of 10 million users. It allows users to send and receive one-on-one text and multimedia messages to and from other users and in general chat rooms. MXit also supports gateways to other instant messaging platforms such as MSN Messenger, ICQ and Google Talk. It does not charge for one-to-one messages though mobile operators may charge for data usage. It was first released as a mobile phone IM client available on a variety of phones. Founded at Stellenbosch University, the media giant Naspers acquired a 30 percent stake in the company for an undisclosed amount in 2007. By September 2011, MXit was acquired by South African investment group, World of Avatar. Today it is a formidable component of the social media stratosphere on the continent.