Cassava Fintech International (CFI), a subsidiary of Econet Global, has announced the release of ‘Sasai TeamTalk’, a voice and video conferencing service that takes up to 20 people in one call.

The service, coming at a time many countries have imposed restrictions on movement to curb the spread of the Covid-19, will be available through Sasai, the all-in-one super App from Cassava Fintech, that allows users to chat, play and explore a vast range of services and content.

Announcing the new service, Darlington Mandivenga, the CEO of Cassava Fintech International, said, “we believe the timing of this mobile conferencing service could not have been more appropriate. Families, communities, social groups such as religious organizations, industries and nations have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic."

"Lockdowns, working from home and social distancing have been introduced as some of the measures to stem the spread of the virus and flatten the curve.”

He said Sasai TeamTalk will offer free voice and video conference service, with secure end-to-end encryption, that connects up to 20 people on a single call.

“However, for business, lockdown should not mean shut down and team meetings must still happen if productivity is to be maintained, he added

"For families, friends and community groups, social distancing should not mean that we stop ‘seeing’ each other or stop talking to each other. They can use Sasai TeamTalk to stay connected and to stay productive,” Mandivenga said of the new conferencing service on the Sasai super App.

Sasai was launched in August 2019 and is already being used in 180 countries across the globe, including every African country. The App already offers a unique in-app language translator service with over 80 languages, 50 of which are African languages.

Mandivenga said the development of Sasai TeamTalk – offering “possibly the largest meeting room any social media platform can offer” – was inspired by the need to achieve business continuity and to “close the distance” created by social distancing.

“Sasai TeamTalk offers a platform where families, friends and even religious groups can get together and interact freely, wherever they may be – even across continents,” Mandivenga said.

The Sasai super App - which can take up to 250 people in a chat group - already brings families closer by allowing international remittances from the United Kingdom, European Union and South Africa to over 30 countries across the world at the lowest fees available.

During the Covid-19 epidemic, businesses are expected to use their resources and expertise to help combat the global pandemic.

At the same time, the surge in employees, students, teachers and other professionals working from home has resulted in a sharp demand for digital ‘telecommuting’ tools such as voice and video conferencing, online collaboration and chat systems.

Sasai Team Talk will allow multiple users to collaborate and chat virtually from anywhere in the world while staying informed and up to date with the latest news and information on Sasai’s Explore feature.

To access and instantly use Sasai TeamTalk, one must download the Sasai super App on the Google Play store or the Apple App Store, start a chat and simply click on the voice or video camera icon.

Users of Sasai TeamTalk can, among other things, swap between the front and rear-facing camera, mute the call and of course, end the call when they are done, by tapping the red phone button.

Sasai Chief Operating Officer, Tapera Mushoriwa, said that the Sasai TeamTalk feature was developed to address a critical need in the market.

It sits in the all-in-one super App to provide users with efficient data usage compared to the use of separate, multiple apps.

Mushoriwa said Sasai would be adding more features to TeamTalk in the coming weeks.