A MAN from Sierra Leon has created a messaging app that is believed to work faster than WhatsApp.

Hafiz Alhassan Kanu, a tech company owner based in the US, named his new app Supfrica to reflect its African origins.

The app has similar functionality and features to the popular messaging app giant owned by Facebook.

The tech company Techfrica, which is owned by the creator himself, released the app on Google Play Store in December last year.

The app, which was initially just a test prototype before it took off, boasts improved features such as cheaper, faster and more audible video and voice call alongside being able to forward messages to more than 20 contacts at once.

The app began to reach notoriety when it was marketed in a Facebook post before going viral on the social media platform and elsewhere.

This was a marked step up, because earlier in the year, only a few people had downloaded it.

Today, Supfrica has been downloaded more than 19,000 times on the Google Play Store, making it the fastest app made by a Sierra Leonean to be downloaded so many times.

It also may just be the most talked about app in African and Sierra Leone.

Though the app is currently rated 2.8 on the Google play store, it is believed to have been rated number one on Google Play store’s top free apps for some time, beating more established services like WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, Telegram and WeChat.

Speaking to PanAfrican Daily TV, Khan said that he created the app as he saw a gap in the market for African technology consumers.

“We want to create an app by Africans for Africans and eventually get it to be used globally.”

To download Supfrica, visit the Google Play Store for IOS and Android.