MTN Group is opening an application programming interface (API) marketplace for software developers. Called the Chenosis, it’s meant to allow developers and businesses to discover and subscribe to open APIs.
“Chenosis will enable developers to tap into a broad spectrum of API products and services from across the continent, ranging from telecommunications, e-health, e-government, Internet of things, fintech, e-commerce, identity and authentication, payments and collections, location and more, from a single marketplace,” the telecommunications operator said in a statement.
Chenosis is a separate brand and entity, and will have an arm’s-length relationship with MTN so that it remains open to all mobile network operators, fintech start-ups, payment service providers, mobile wallet operators and financial service providers, said group chief technology and information officer Charles Molapisi in the statement.
The Chenosis marketplace allows businesses and developers to publish their APIs so that other developers can discover and consume them. The marketplace also provides the tools for publishers to monetise and promote their APIs, by creating subscription plans and product bundles that developers and businesses can purchase. The marketplace portal has dashboards for publishers and consumers to track revenue and credit balances, and view consumption analytics and API performance.
“The power of the platform will be in the creation of ‘mashup APIs’, which will connect cross-industry APIs and facilitate innovation and the ability to build new services and new business models. Mashups are new product and service orchestrations created by developers from two or more existing APIs,” said Molapisi.
Partnerships
“We have exciting pan-African and international partnerships lined up to publish and monetise their APIs in the marketplace over the coming months. These partnerships will enable Chenosis to become the largest and most diverse developer ecosystem on the African continent.”
The Chenosis Marketplace will be open to the public from 10 August. — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media
