Patanjali’s Kimbho vs. WhatsApp, Can Swadeshi Messenger Survive?

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, who calls himself the pioneer of Swadeshi Movement, is all set to challenge WhatsApp with its Desi messenger app Kimbho. The app has been launched on Wednesday with a tagline “Ab Bharat Bolega.”  The spokesperson of Patanjali on his handle confirmed the launch of the app.

From FMCG to IT Patanjali is exploring different avenues to become a conglomerate. While Ramdev Baba has not vouched a seal to the news, but in his official twitter handle he has re- tweeted an article about Kimbho.  The app has been launched after the firm has confirmed its tie up with the loss making firm BSNL to enter the telecom sector by launching its SIM cards.

अब भारत बोलेगा…#किम्भो #KIMBHO Apphttps://t.co/0XP1LqWNXR

— tijarawala sk (@tijarawala) May 31, 2018

Kimbho App versus Whatsapp

Kimbho has several striking features similar to Facebook led Whats App like through this app you can initiate private chats, do phone and video calling, create groups, follow your favorite celebrities, create doodles, send text messages, and do a lot more with a difference that instead of telephone icon there is a conch in the logo, assuming that is how people used to call to each other in the ancient times.

Though the app has been revamped in terms of shade green, but it fails to make a mark or we can say that this app doesn’t translate to be as addictive as Whats App because it suffers from various security violations.

The French hacker, Elliot Anderson has even gone on saying that this app is a joke and is a clone to an earlier launched messaging app Bolo and doesn’t have any new features to get hooked to.

Foreign Version with an Indian touch

Once you login to the app, you’ll see a bucketful of multimedia stickers that remind you of the nation that you belong to.

Right now, this app suffers from various setbacks, and there is a nothing new for the Indian denizens. With this launch, we can say that the company is on a mission to nip the foreign companies in the bud by tagging everything into Swadeshi without a proper roadmap.

NOT a Good Start for Kimbho

Many users who have downloaded this app is not happy with it. One tweeted about the server problem and another about messages not being delivered.  Even the calling options seems not to work. So far around 5k users have downloaded the app and the reviews are full of issues.

The app that surfaced on Android and ios playstore on late Wednesday has now been taken down from Google Android due to the security breach, but it is available on ios platform.

#पतंजलि ने #किम्भो एप मात्र 1 दिन के लिए प्ले स्टोर पर ट्रायल पर डाला था। मात्र 3 घंटे में ही 1.5 लाख लोग इसे डाउनलोड करने लगेेेे। हम इस भारी व उत्साहजनक रेस्पॉन्स के प्रति आभारी हैं।
Technical work is in progress &#KIMBHO APP will be officially launched soon @yogrishiramdev pic.twitter.com/hbcq8qpiPS

— tijarawala sk (@tijarawala) May 31, 2018

Can Kimbho Survive?

Can Kimbho over-ride the space dominated by WhatsApp, just by tagging itself Swadeshi? Well, Patanjali needs to be serious if it wants to carve a niche for itself.