𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐳𝐤𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐱 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐩

Son Honors Mother by Creating App

“I am forever thankful to my mother. Without her I would not have been where I am today,” says Zayne Chan.

Mothers play a huge role in shaping their children’s lives and in transforming society. Phoenix-born Zayne Chan, says that he owes his mother a ‘lifetime of gratitude’ for shaping him into the person that he has become – a successful IT developer, a humanitarian and an entrepreneur of note.

Just in time for Mother’s Day, Zayne honours his mother by becoming the first South African, that he is aware of, to create a live-streaming app (application) that is accessible globally across 176 countries. The app is called SodaPop and is a platform that is similar to Netflix, Showmax and Amazon Prime. SodaPop allows the user to watch movies, news, sports, TV etc on a smartphone device via the Google app.

Speaking to Tabloid Newspapers, Zayne, 33, explained how his mother, Christine Chan, became both mother and father to him and his siblings at a young age. Whilst holding down two jobs (secretary by day and waitress at night), Christine motivated and steered Zayne towards studying and choosing a career in information technology (IT).

Zayne said that ‘life was a struggle’ growing up and they moved houses regularly. He recalled how he bought a pair of second-hand shoes from his neighbour for R20 and used it throughout his matric year. Against the odds, Zayne matriculated from Daleview Secondary School with excellent results. He said that his mother lovingly led him by the hand and made him register for the advanced diploma in IT. After graduating, Zayne worked to help his mother and studied online with Microsoft, Google and Apple. Zayne is now a certified app developer.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic Zayne successfully launched the Playstore app, All A’s – for South African children from Grade R to Grade 12 which caught the interest of the South African government. SodaPop was born during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 when Zayne saw a need to keep people at home thereby reducing the Covid-19 infection rate. He also wanted to grow the South African economy, put South Africa on the map and give South Africa a digital footprint in the tech world. Zayne got to thinking about the longevity of his career within the IT industry with the world becoming completely digitalised. This spurred him on to develop an app that would secure his future and create a global footprint. After hours of planning, a unique and economically viable streaming service was born.

He said that people consume popcorn and soda while watching movies, hence the idea behind the name. Google published the SodaPop app and released it on 20 November last year. Whilst the app is predominantly used in South Africa, Zayne would like to see SodaPop become a household name globally and become the new entertainment stream used by millions.

SodaPop, much like other popular streaming services, is completely online. SodaPop boasts many features that other services lack. You can now stream movies and series and for the first time in South Africa, Live TV Channels and sport. SodaPop boasts the advantage of streaming popular channels such as Comedy Central, Discovery, ESPN, Sports, WWE, CNN, TLC, The History Channel, National Geographic and so many more. The app is extremely low data usage and can be downloaded from the Playstore with low monthly subscription options. All content is Blue Ray quality, extremely low or no buffering and is accessible on multiple devices with one subscription.

Sodapop app is published in 176 countries globally with app localisation for language settings, and debit order system handled directly by Google. A full HD screen cast to all smart TVs, fast and reliable quality directly from Google and an affordable, streaming service. Users can purchase a Google Store card at retail outlets instead of using their bank card information.

The official media launch of SodaPop will take place in May but it is available for immediate download. For access, go to the Google Playstore, download SodaPop and journey to the beyond.

Zayne currently lives in Chatsworth. He says that the worst experience of his life was becoming infected with Covid-19, from which he has fortunately fully recovered. He says that while he eats, sleeps, thinks and dreams apps, he “resets” by fishing, cooking and enjoying Lamborghinis. Zayne plans to open a free training centre for disadvantaged and disabled children living in vulnerable communities to teach them how to program apps. Zayne’s message to the youth is: “Work hard, don’t lose hope, never give up. It is achievable.”