This 'made in Aba' African emoji keyboard is for us

Have you ever looked for the right emoji to convey the message/question "

Standard emojis are cool but sometimes it is hard to express our 'Africanness'. Black emojis introduced by Apple a few years ago cannot express our Naija style of 'yarning'.

Three Nigerian sisters have solved this tiny problem for millions of Africans. Chinyere, Chioma and Chizoba Ugokwe, born and raised in Aba, have created Afreekmoji.

Afreekmoji is an app that has over 60 African inspired emojis. It promotes the African culture and helps us express ourselves much better. "Afreekmoji is all about positivity and sharing the African culture with pride, we want to help people identify with their heritage," say the sisters.

Afreekmoji app is available on Google Play and App store and it is not too expensive. Even with the crazy rate of the US Dollar these days, the app is affordable. It goes for only $0.99 (₦425).

Chinyere, Chioma, Chizoba are no strangers to entrepreneurship. They are behind the fashion brand called Dashikipride. It is an African inspired clothing line patronised by the likes of Nicki Minaj.

The girls moved to America in 2007 and continue to promote the beauty of African culture.

In 2016, iManagement Consulting createdAfro Emoji. "We, as Africans, definitely have a distinctive way of communicating with one another, and Afro Emoji is a fun, graphic depiction of that. We are building a modern African hieroglyph that represents us" the company told Pulse.

African emojis are cool for us here. With standard emojis, it is hard to express certain Naija words, phrases and feelings. Emojis created especially for us, will make social conversations and gist easier on instant messaging apps.