MyAds, the newest venture from Nigerian serial
entrepreneur Simeon Ononobi, helps deliver
advertisements directly to target audiences.
The app allows advertisers to select specific
demographics based on factors like gender, location,
income and age. The ads are then connected to the
chosen users, who earn reward points by allowing them to
appear on their phones during incoming calls.
The points can be exchanged for cash, vouchers, coupons,
airtime, and other rewards that correspond to the MyAds
partners’ products.
Redemption partners differ from country to country, says
Ononobi. In Lagos, for example, users will soon be able to
use their points to buy bus tickets or get through toll
gates.
Rewards – too good to be true
The size of the reward depends on how the user interacts
with the advert that is displayed. If they visit the
advertiser’s website or buy one of their products, for
example, they get paid more. And there are conditions in
place to make sure that the system can’t be abused. A
call must last long enough that the caller has spent more
money on the call than the value of the reward they
receive.
Partners are also paid differently depending on their role
and contribution. “Let’s assume the advertiser pays us 10
naira per impression. We give the user five naira, we keep
five naira, which we give to different partners. So if the
telcos are involved we give to them; if agencies that are
bringing advertisers come on board, we give them part of
that,” explains Ononobi.
However, MyAds faces a unique issue in that many of its
users in Africa see it as something that is too good to be
true, finding it hard to believe that they could get paid just
for seeing an ad.
This and other snags, according to Ononobi, will be
worked out as the company gains momentum, which it
seems set to do: the app currently has about 80,000 users
and over 15 advertisers, including MTN, Airtel, Pass.Ng,
United Bank for Africa, Co-Creation Hub Nigeria and
AfroCab.
Solving global problems
Over the course of his career, Ononobi has found solutions
to many African problems. These include an app for GT
Bank; Backup My Phone (which he later sold); SimplePay;
and YouWIN!, a programme designed for the Nigerian
government to drive youth entrepreneurship.
These solutions were created within and for an African
context. MyAds, however, will be different. He plans to
take it global, as well as expanding across Africa.
Already it has reached its first new continent. Launched
September last year, MyAds has since been introduced in
India, and is spreading across Africa fast.
“So, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda –
those are the ones we are going to instantly, almost
immediately. They are where we’ve found great partners
and where we have tested a bit – and the reception we got
was really awesome,” says Ononobi.
In India, MyAds users can use their points to pay for
services like water and electricity, an option that could
benefit African countries in the not-too-distant future.
It’s important for Ononobi to try and solve problems
experienced globally, not just those endemic to Africa.
“The more I travel, the more I try to relate to the
communities and the places I go to, to see if I can solve a
global problem rather than a local one,” he says.
Nigerian vs Silicon Valley
Ononobi has been part of the budding Nigerian tech space
for many years and believes that it could one day rival
Silicon Valley. “Right now, before investors put money into
ventures in Nigeria, you have to show some form, some
kind of traction. It’s different in Silicon Valley, where all
you need to do is show a great idea and you have
investors just pumping money into it,” he says.
He sees the Nigerian way as a stronger model. He believes
that if ventures show that they will be successful and
generate revenue on their own, they’re more likely to do
well once they receive the investment needed to scale up.
“M-Pesa should not be our only success story. We should
be able to grow and teach the world what needs to be
done. So I believe that all we need to do is just have one,
two, three, four success stories and we will be bigger than
Silicon Valley.”
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