Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ayoba, Burak Akinci has disclosed that the company is in the process of integrating adverts (ads) and payment systems into Africa’s super app.
The move, according to him, is to monetise the all-in-one instant messaging super app developed to bridge the digital divide and harness growth in the African economy by breaking barriers to the internet, digital services, and affordability.
Once the integration is does, corporate and individual and service providers would be allowed to advertise their products and services on the Ayoba messaging app on a revenue share basis.
Currently it is free for anyone to place their apps, services and ads on Ayoba and it is also zero-rated for users as far as data is concerned.
Mr Akinci who disclosed this during a media engagement at MTN Ghana headquarters in Accra, explained that from 2023, the company would monetise Ayoba to enable companies and service providers that generate revenues from the platform to give a portion to the app.
He told the journalists at the short event: “We have created a platform where users and service providers are happy, hence its growth”.
Mr Akinci revealed that Ayoba has over 15 million users across Africa and 2.5 million of its users are in Ghana.
According to him, Ayoba currently has 15 micro-apps with the majority built by local developers. This is aimed at boosting local content, he stated.
Customers can use these micro-apps in Ayoba to perform Mobile Money transactions on the MoMo micro app, among other things.
Mr Akinci further explained that Ayoba is more than a platform and more than an app as it connects people on a value basis and leverages an African identity.
The app, which was launched in 2019, became available to users in Ghana in 2020 and has so far provided exciting content for all users irrespective of their locations in the country.
Besides chatting for free via instant messaging, Ayoba, according to the CEO, offers access to an in-app music player which brings weekly updates on the latest African and international music.
Users can play a wide variety of free and exciting games ranging from action, adventure and children’s games as well as have access to one of the top global games-Subway Surfers.
It also has channels covering eight categories: news, sports, entertainment, health and fitness, fashion and beauty, education, and music.
The Black Star Channel, which is exclusive to Ghanaian content, gives access to local trends, news and exciting stories on music, fashion, food, politics, and lifestyle.
The world-class messaging app which is free for all MTN users currently supports 22 languages across Africa and the Middle East. While some Ghanaian languages would also be added onto the platform soon, he disclosed.
In an interview, the Chief Digital Officer of MTN Ghana, Dario Bianchi said apart from TV, radio and online campaigns, the company has employed 1000 field agents who go to markets and other public places to promote Ayoba.
When asked about customers who can’t read and write yet they are on the Ayoba, he disclosed that in the next few months, audio and video channels would be added to the platform to cater for this group of customers.
Mr Bianchi was excited that Ghanaians are gradually accepting Ayoba as a messaging app despite two years of operations.
Ayoba is available on Google Playstore to all MTN and non-MTN customers in the digital ecosystem who wish to enjoy all service and rich media content Ayoba provides.
All MTN users are allowed to enjoy all these services and more on Ayoba for free- no data is required.
Instructively, MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy is to drive digital and financial inclusion across Africa, via Ayoba the company intends to reach 100 million monthly active users by 2025, ensuring more people reap the social, economic, and developmental dividends of being online.
