New digital app to link over 60 Catholic radio stations in east Africa

ACI Africa, Aug 21, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Department of Social Communications of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) recently celebrated the launch of a new digital app for Catholic radio stations. The new platform will bring together 66 radio stations in the region.

The app — the first of its kind in the Church in eastern Africa — will serve Catholics in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. It will also target AMECEA’s affiliate members of Djibouti and Somalia.

The goal of the app is to boost evangelization efforts, AMECEA’s Department of Social Communications coordinator told ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, at the launch on Monday, Aug. 18.

“With this app, Catholics in any of the AMECEA countries will be able to follow holy Mass or access whichever kind of Church information they want even when they are away from their home countries,” Father Andrew Kaufa said at the event, which was held at the Consolata Shrine in Kenya’s Archdiocese of Nairobi.

“There will be holy Masses, all sorts of prayers, and even news about the Catholic Church in the region,” he said.

AMECEA’s secretary-general, Father Anthony Makunde, echoed Kaufa’s comments, noting that the digital radio app, just like the 10-year communication policy also unveiled on Aug. 18, is an attempt by AMECEA to “harmonize” evangelization efforts across the region.

“This innovative tool brings together all Catholic communication media channels in our region into one platform accessible on mobile phones, tablets, and computers,” he said of the app that is accessible on Android devices.

Of the 66 radio stations that will be accessible through the app, 19 are in Kenya, 12 in Uganda, 13 in Tanzania, and four in Malawi. Zambia has nine while both Sudan and South Sudan have six.

Makunde said these media channels will now be gathered in one place “thanks to the creativity and dedication of the AMECEA communications team.”

Apart from holy Masses, prayers, news, and other programs, the app will also allow for fundraising by individual radio stations, Kaufa said, noting that contributors will not be limited by geographical location.

“Radio stations can fundraise on the app for different causes,” he said. “If there is a radio station in Zambia fundraising on the app, anyone with the app can contribute, not just Zambians.” 

The SECAM official said the development of the app was inspired by the need for Catholic communicators to be on par with others in the industry, especially with the current advancements in technology.

Additionally, SECAM started receiving requests from Catholic TV and radio stations to come up with a platform that unites all the agencies in the region, Kaufa said.

“The app was inspired by the very fact that almost every media house is now developing an app. We had been receiving this question, ‘Do we have an app for our Catholic radios, our Catholic TVs?’” he said.

“The bishops’ conference of Uganda approached us first, saying that they had a Catholic TV station and wanted to be linked with other [stations] in the region. Later on, somebody asked us about the radio. That is how we saw the gap.”

He added: “I also attended a digital summit and I could see that everyone there was saying that they have an app. I thought as Catholics, we should not be left behind in this movement.”

The journey toward the realization of the digital app began in 2022. The challenge was getting as many radio stations as possible on board.

“Developing this app has been slow,” he said. “Being regional, there was so much to be done and the different radios had to first get permission from their bishops. Eventually, everyone came on board.”

He also said the app will be easy to run and may require no finances to sustain.

“Initially, we thought that the app would need many resources to sustain. However, eventually, we come to realize that running the app is almost free of charge,” Kaufa said.

Speaking about the evolution of the radio and its growing significance in evangelization, Kaufa said: “The radio has been removed from the sitting room. People are listening more from their phones than from the big radio.”

“I always agree with those who say that a bishop without a radio is more or less like a bishop without a voice,” he said. “Radio is still very important, more than all other media, especially in terms of evangelization. More people in many parts of Africa can afford radio. If you want to reach your people very easily, you must embrace the radio.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266061/new-digital-app-to-link-over-60-catholic-radio-stations-in-east-africa