Zippie launches the first mobile blockchain solution for the mass-market in Africa
We’re thrilled to announce that three leading Zambian online companies will start rewarding their users with Zippie’s mobile blockchain platform. AfriDelivery, Musanga, Tigmoo and Zippie launched the collaboration today at a full press event hosted by the Embassy of Finland in Lusaka, Zambia.
Three Zambian online businesses start rewarding their users with Zippie
It’s a big day for Zippie after developing our mobile blockchain platform for several years. Today, three leading Zambian online companies, AfriDelivery, Musanga and Tigmoo, will start rewarding their users for purchases, deliveries and referrals with Zippie’s technology.
The services’ users will be rewarded with mobile airtime directly into their blockchain powered wallets. Users can also easily share the airtime with any other smartphone user just by sharing a payment link via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or other chat app. With these easily shareable rewards which have real everyday value, online companies can accelerate their viral growth and maintain loyal customers.
Each of the three companies’ rewards wallet is integrated to their app or website and themed according to their own brand, making the wallet as a seamless part of the product experience to their users.
Full house at the launch PR event in Ambassador of Finland’s residency
The launch was hosted by the Ambassador of Finland H.E. Pirjo Suomela-Chowdhury’s residency in Lusaka, Zambia. We got great support from the embassy and our launch partners to organise the event. The house was packed with more than 20 representatives from the top Zambian media such as newspapers and TV channels.
At the event, Tigmoo’s CEO Vikas Kumar, Musanga’s CEO Njavwa Mutambo and AfriDelivery’s Managing Director Nadezheda Daniels gave speeches about their businesses and how Zippie’s solution can boost their user acquisition and growth. Zippie’s CEO Antti Saarnio introduced the Zippie platform. Moreover, Monica Musonda, the founder and CEO of food processing company Java Foods and Board member of the Central Bank of Zambia and Airtel Zambia, discussed with the press about the importance and benefits of the type of rewards Zippie enables.
Antti and our VP of Sales Osmo Korri then demonstrated how easy it is to share loyalty points and airtime with Zippie. Antti sent a Tigmoo points payment link via WhatsApp to Osmo, who then onboarded to the Zippie wallet through his mobile browser and saw the points in his wallet. All of this happened frictionlessly without any downloads or bank accounts.
After the demonstration, the press had a chance to ask questions and have more detailed product walk-throughs by Antti and Osmo, alongside some snacks and cocktails.
All in all, the product had a great reception from the press and the launch event was a sounding success for all parties.
First step in democratizing opportunity for everyone
Why we think this is such big news?
Zippie’s goal is simple but ambitious: democratize opportunity for everyone.
Our first objective of many towards this future has been to build a white label “super app” platform which enables any online business to reward their users. The users can earn rewards from everything they do online, from online shopping to referring friends and completing educational courses.
We are focusing our efforts on the continent where even the smallest earning opportunity can make the biggest impact: Africa. Rapidly growing smartphone adoption and online commerce, young entrepreneurial population of which most work in the informal sector, and leadership in taking mobile money into use offer a fertile ground for Zippie to take off in the continent. Like the people in these markets, we’re mobile first and have experienced that value can and should be exchanged without several exclusive middlemen. Based on our numerous discussions with local partners and friends, we’re confident that enabling seamless value transfer between people and businesses, especially the underbanked ones, can have a massive positive impact in people’s daily lives.
By entering the market with these three pioneering online businesses today in Zambia, we have achieved our first objective of being able to reward users with something of real value. Importantly, the market entry provides us also the opportunity to get the Zippie platform to the hands of thousands of end-users within months. This enables us to gather the always-so-critical user feedback and steer the product development in the right direction, fulfilling genuine market needs.
What’s more, having the first partners and end-users will help us greatly in selling the solution to other online businesses. We’re pleased to say that there are numerous other partnerships in the pipeline in several countries, ready to start rewarding their users with mobile airtime and other valuable items. Stay tuned for more news in the coming months — as well as blog series describing our product strategy and vision in more detail. Follow us on Twitter to make sure not to miss the news!
