Zimbabwean tech entrepreneur Farai Mundangepfupfu, who self-funded and created the Wangu mobile chat application, says the platform has attracted 2000 downloads and 1 744 weekly users in the past few weeks.

Wangu (which is street lingo for 'my friend' in the Shona vernacular) enables Zimbabweans (inside and outside the country) to link up and is still on the start-up stage - but Mundangepfupfu is expecting it to grow.

He plans direct and targeted advertising to commercialise the platform.

"I anticipate that Wangu will provide Zimbabweans opportunities for unique communication, self-expression and community. Every Zimbabwean wants to feel unique and to show the world how creative, extraordinary and outside-the-box he or she is and they can do just that in a familiar setting," said Mundangepfupfu in an interview with ITWeb Africa this week.

The application's data centre is powered by TelOne in partnership with state-run mobile firm, NetOne.

The application will mostly appeal to consumers between the ages of 25 and 34, and is currently running with "approximately 200 active users every 30 minutes".

The platform allows members to find Zimbabweans nearby, chat, share photos, videos and engage one another and is available for download on the Google Play Store. It will soon be available in the iOS version.

It is also intended to facilitate commercial interaction and designed to enable local companies to reach audiences via direct connection with markets.

The Wangu application uses cloud computing to safeguard the privacy of users' data and information. Privacy and security of personal information have been key topics around social media platforms over the past few years.

"We use a cloud computing solution for maximum security and integrity of our user information. Our cloud hosting infrastructure allows us to develop and run our servers remotely allowing Wangu users to communicate efficiently and effectively," adds Mundangepfupfu.

In terms of the privacy policy on personal user information, the Wangu chat platform does not disclose personal data to "anyone or organisation" – with the only exception being "when "personal information may be disclosed is in the event of a crime"

"In this scenario we may disclose personal information when required by law," explained Mundangepfupfu.