Pamoja Media | African Internet marketing agency | African brands | advertising in Africa » Digital

From conception to delivery

Festus — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:34:37 +0000

Tandaza Technologies, the mobile applications development subsidiary of Pamoja Media, launched Payuka today at the Android marketplace.

I spoke to Comark Maloba, chief technical officer at Pamoja Media and also the brains behind Payuka, about well, the app! Excerpts.

When did you come up with the Payuka idea?

It was around September 2011. Two things contributed to the idea formation. First, a group of Swedish newspaper journalists came to the office to research about how African newspapers publish their content online. East Africa was their last stop after West and South Africa. Second, I observed that people pay for sports content instead of for example, politics, by SMS subscriptions and going online.

What made you come up with the idea?

I’m a football fan and I’ve always wanted to interact with the games that are being shown on TV or placed on sites such as BBC and Goal , not just listen to the commentators. Look at it like being in the stadium itself. With those two combined I thought:

“Why not focus on an app that not only enables you to view what the scores are, but also lets you get the mood from similar people.’’

Where do you see Payuka being mostly used?

When I first thought about the app, I thought about my immediate sphere of influence: my Facebook friends and the people I follow on Twitter. The strategy then changed to how Payuka could work both in Africa and the rest of the world.

How did you test drive Payuka?

We have had 4 test drive sessions this month. We also test drove Payuka daily before we launched it at the Android marketplace on 13^th January.

How long did it take you from conception to completion?

The Tandaza development team worked on the app from September 2011 to actualisation in January this year.

What challenges did you and Tandaza experience during the app development?

The first challenge was naming. We initially named it ‘kick-off,’ a name already taken. So, we had to rename the app and took into consideration that the name had to be memorable and easy to roll off the tongue. Second, because the developers lacked prior mobile apps development experience, they had to undergo best practice and standardisation lessons so that users can encounter a good user experience.

What metrics will you use to measurePayuka’s success?

I usually use Twitter to tweet about football. Most of the 900 people I follow on Twitter are Kenyans and I like to know what they are talking about regarding football. If at least 300-400 of them download Payuka and use it weekly during live games, I will know that they are responding well to the app.

What other app idea are you working on, or is it confidential?

There are actually 2 ideas at the moment: the first concerns social gaming and the second, data collection. Watch this space.

When do you plan to avail Payuka to other mobile phone operating systems such as Nokia’s Symbian?

Coming soon.

Why online transactions in Kenya are still crawling

Festus — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:32:01 +0000

image courtesy: http://www.flickr.com

Evidence that Kenya is a cash obese economy is overwhelming: notices in cafés instruct you to pay first before you place your order and also remind you that they don’t provide credit, matatu conductors place currency notes between their index and middle fingers, banks resemble war zones when armed policemen escort cash carrying vans to deposit before July 1991 Kenyan importers needed Central Bank of Kenya’s approval before they bought foreign exchange.

As Joshua Wanyama , Pamoja Media CEO, observed in this recent interview, e-commerce in Kenya is growing, but a lack a nationally acceptable and valid electronic payment system and a ubiquitous culture that shuns buying goods and services online are in the list of obstacles preventing e-commerce in Kenya from fully taking off.

Card issuers and mobile phone companies collaborate

However, firms are rolling out different solutions to reduce the gulf between payments and e-commerce. In February this year, Safaricom launched the M-Pesa prepay safari card which allows its users to transact business online. In September Airtel and MasterCard launched payonline, a platform that enables the former’s subscribers to buy and pay for goods and services online using the latter’s cards. And down South, MTN launched payd, a system that facilitates South Africans to pay for goods and services online using a pin-based debit card.

These efforts are commendable, but insufficient if they are not complemented by measures to persuade Kenyan online shoppers to consider shopping and paying for goods using these cards. This festive season is a great opportunity about to vanish for Kenyan businesses to do that. They are offering an abundance of Christmas offers and even advertising them on their websites, but there’s neither information nor incentives to encourage customers to shop and pay for these offers online.

Champagne launches, flat follow ups

On December 16 2011, Safaricom concluded a nationwide tour to promote its products/services. These events attracted crowds similar to those who attend political rallies. They were not only entertained by comedians and musicians, they also won freebies such as tee shirts, hats and umbrellas. Why can’t Safaricom conduct a similar initiative to persuade (and reward) its subscribers with internet connection in their homes to use its safari card? Why hasn’t Airtel Kenya added information regarding its payonline

solution to its website? Both mobile phone service providers account for approximately 80% of Kenya’s 25 million subscribers. Imagine the effect their efforts to convince a substantial number of these subscribers to sign up to their respective offerings would have on online transactions in Kenya. One result is that the number of cards (Visa) will increase from the current 2 million. In addition, none of these companies have displayed the energy to update the public on the successes and challenges of these initiatives, compared with the enthusiasm they exhibit when they regularly update us on the progress of their other promotions, particularly those that have to do with winning cash.

Online transactions in Kenya will run on steroids once card issuers, mobile phone service providers and e-commerce sites actively woo, retain and reward potential card holders.

E-Commerce in Kenya State of Mind:(Part 2)

Festus — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:38:30 +0000

Joshua Wanyama, CEO, Pamoja Media

Today’s post finalises Joshua Wanyama’s views on the state of e-commerce in Kenya. It’s a continuation of where Part 1 ended. Read on.

Google recently launched the Kenyan Business Online initiative to encourage Kenyan companies to build their own free websites. Does this mean that without such initiatives from multi-nationals like Google, e-commerce in Kenya won’t take off?

It doesn’t mean that. People always gravitate towards ways that make doing business easy. E-commerce sites already exist in Kenya and Google has nothing to do with that. KBO’s primary aim is to show Kenyan businesses the value of going online and competing against each other, and competition creates opportunities for Google to make money through advertising on their Adwords platform. Digital processes and systems are growing, but what’s drastically needed for E-commerce to take off in Kenya is behaviour change by shoppers from over-the-counter to online shopping.

The Kenyan government recently set up the Kenya Computer Incident Response Team to protect the government’s digital assets against cyber attacks. Should the private sector do the same?

There exist industry standards and software to protect the private sector against cyber attacks. The problem is that these systems are marketed and sold outside Africa. We can’t have E-commerce sites without secure servers, otherwise customers won’t pitch.

Even though the Kenyan e-commerce market is too small for promotions such as Cyber Monday, what promotions can the existing Kenyan e-commerce businesses do to generate a buzz about ecommerce?

Cyber Monday is an obvious attempt by American online stores to sell more after Thanksgiving Day leading to the holiday season because this period contributes to 75% of their annual sales. But we can’t replicate Cyber Monday in Kenya, we need to create unique shopping days similar to the market days in villages. When more Kenyans will shop online, then we will spot opportunities to create our own Cyber Monday. For now, e-commerce sites should ask themselves: “How can we tap the psyche of the Kenyan consumer offline to turn it into an online experience?”

How can Kenyan businesses take advantage of East African cooperation to extend their e-commerce tentacles?

Both e-commerce as a service and the individual East African markets are small, meaning the huge opportunities either lie regionally or continentally. However, each government has specific rules regarding online transactions and payments and combined with the few Africans buying online, make things tricky. Despite these obstacles, digital purchases have the best chance of scaling quickly if you already run regional operations and logistics. For example, Nakumatt, which currently has 35 outlets across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, can sell Tanzanian rice online from their Moshi store to a Kenyan consumer who can collect it the next day.
Kenyan businesses will benefit from regional integration when legislation changes to suit e-commerce needs and consumers become more online savvy.

When you look at Kenya’s economy, what sectors should already be practising e-commerce?

Music, events, news and mobile apps.

Any other thoughts about e-commerce in Kenya?

First, Kenyan and African entrepreneurs need to localise e-commerce. They can’t use Western models because they are unsuitable for our unique environment. Kenya has proved that mobile phone-based transactions work. So, how can we change the psyche of the Kenyan/African consumer from paying over the counter for goods and services to paying for them using their mobile phones? How can we enlighten them about the benefits of e-commerce?
Ponder this. Recently, a friend of mine opted to go to the Junction shopping mall, withdrew money from her M-Pesa account and paid for tickets to an event over the counter even after I had recommended she avoids the hassle by paying for them and later printing them using the same M-Pesa account on ticketsasa.

How Kenyan e-commerce sites can successfully tie business and social media

Festus — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:01:29 +0000

image: www.africaknows.com

It’s now become a badge of cool for Kenyan companies to include their social media contacts in their publicity materials, never mind the fact that some of them rarely update their content! Anyway, a social media presence is an acknowledgement of the importance of these spaces for long-term brand awareness, building and customer engagement.

Unfortunately, for most businesses establishing social media sites to complement their ecommerce websites, it’s been hard for them to shed the notion that the former are NOT marketing communication servants’ quarters adjacent to the latter. Two recent articles in the Business Daily and in http://www.sunwords.com/2011/11/27/organizations-be-very-afraid-of-social-media/highlighted the dangers of this approach.

Karibu mapambo.com

However, there are some Kenyan Internet-based businesses that have successfully tied together their ecommerce and social media laces. One example is http://www.mapambo.com/, a site that sells hand-made jewellery, handbags, accessories, etc. The homepage makes you feel at ease thanks to its welcome messages in both English and Swahili languages. The sections are well marked and easy to navigate through. On the right hand size of the page are invitations to join the brand on Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook Kachumbari

And these sections are where Kenyan companies on social media should observe and take notes. Mapambo’s Facebook page is not all about the brand. Look at this welcome note: “Call …. to order…or just to say hi.” There is a ‘kachumbari’ of content that includes a video on what is still good about Kenya and a photo of a jogoo with its head held high imploring fans to keep going despite the difficulties they are experiencing. Fans interact with the brand by posting their comments, and the brand responds quickly to people’s queries.

Hi tweeps

Mapambo’s Twitter page is no different. Among its tweets are links to the world’s ‘funniest’ joke and a greeting to its ‘tweeps’ asking them how their weekend was. Just like Facebook, fans tweet and post links to other content.

Big numbers

If Mapambo’s current 30,847 Facebook fans and 929 Twitter followers are any indicator, the business has already acquired a black belt in e-commerce and social media integration.

However, the business should sort out a few irritants on its website for example: there are no watches despite them being listed on the catalogue. Second, there is no image of a table lamp, yet it’s on sale.

How to optimise your website for the festive season

Festus — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:09:36 +0000

image: www.africaknows.com

Once a Website starts using ‘Christmas’ in its marketing messages, then that’s enough evidence that the festive season is on.

Unfortunately, there are no statistics available regarding the amount Kenyans spend online during the festive season, but Americans spent $36.4 billion (over Kshs 3 trillion) online in 2010 during the holiday season until Christmas Eve. Even though we are light years of hitting such figures, you can still optimise your website for the festive season which will place your business as a contender for a rich, local harvest.

Content adaptation

Your content has to change to reflect the season. People usually use keywords such as ‘Christmas deals’, ‘Christmas bargains’, ‘Christmas offers,’ etc. Add these keywords to your products/service descriptions to give your website a good chance of earning a high rank on organic searches.

Season imagery

There’s a Christmas tree on the Orange website mentioned above. Your site’s look and feel has to be in tune with the season’s mood. You don’t have to decorate your whole site, just one image on the homepage and perhaps on the landing pages containing the festive season goods/services on offer will do.

Status updates

Your social media spaces such as Facebook and YouTube are great avenues to hype up your festive season offers to your fans. Mention your deals and then attach a link to your website for your fans to find out more information. Another advantage of using social media is that your fans will share your website’s links with their friends if the offers are juicy enough.

If you run a blog on your site, post season themed content.

Adwords campaign

A Google adwords campaign can fuel your festive season offers’ momentum. But before you spend money on it, ensure you conduct keyword research on Google’s keyword tool to both gauge how much traffic your keywords will generate for your website and how much competition there is for the keywords you choose. Select keywords that have a low to medium local search competition because that will reduce your pay per click costs.

After the end of the festive season, measure the campaign’s effectiveness using Google analytics.

Just don’t wait until the first of December to begin optimising your website for the festive season.

Salute to these Kenyan SMEs for practising Internet marketing (part 2)

Festus — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:04:10 +0000

image courtesy: www.bdafrica.com

Our November 1 post celebrated the first batch of the 2011 Top 100 Mid-sized Companies which have established a Web/social media presence.

Today’s post highlights the second and final batch. Kudos to those Kenyan SMEs that understand the importance of Internet/social media marketing (and don’t forget to constantly update and vary your content). But for those SMEs without websites/’website under construction’ and social media pages, you are losing out on effective and measurable Internet marketing platforms, big time.

41 ) Gina Din Corporate Communications

Website: http://www.ginadin.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gina.din1?sk=wall

Twitter: @gina_din

42) Viva Productline

Website: http://www.vivaproductline.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000156533063&sk=info

43) Capital Colours

Website: http://www.capitalcolours.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Capital-Colours/160780357298885?sk=info

44) Faram East Africa

Website: http://www.faram-ea.com/

45) The Phoenix Ltd

Website: http://thephoenixltd.com/

46) Kandia Fresh Produce Suppliers

Website: http://www.kandiagroup.com/

47) Creative Edge

Website: http://www.creative.co.ke/

Twitter: @crea8ivedge

48) Marketpower International

Website: http://www.marketpower.co.ke/

49) Waumini Insurance Brokers

Website: http://wauminiinsurance.com/

50) Stoic Company

Website: http://stoiccarcentre.com/

51) Alpine Coolers

Website: http://www.alpineone.com/

52) Toolcrafts Ltd

Website: http://www.toolcrafts.com/

53) Circuit Business Systems

Website: http://www.cbskenya.com/company.htm

54) Wines of the World

Website: http://brand2d.com/wines/?page_id=2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/WINES-OF-THE-WORLD/118583948186688

55) Airtouch Cooling Systems

Website: http://www.airtouchcooling.com/

56) Limelight Creations

Website: http://www.limelight-creationsgroup.com/

57) Axel Engineering and Manufacturing

Website: http://axel.co.ke/

58) Virgin Tours

Website: http://www.virgintours.co.ke/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VIRGIN.SAFARIS

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/virgintours-virgintours/41/b60/232

59) Skylark Creative Products

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Skylark-Creative-Products-LTD/133504736723584

60) Desbro Engineering

Website: http://www.engineering-desbrogroup.com/

61) Tiger Brands (K) Ltd

Website: http://www.hacotigerbrands.co.ke/

62) Catalyst Travels

Website: http://www.catalysttravels.com/

63) Premier Industries

Website: http://premierindltd.com/index.php

64) Parapet Cleaning Services

Website: http://www.parapetcleaning.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Parapetcleaning?sk=wall

Twitter:@parapetcleaning

65) Travelshoppe Company

Website: http://www.travelshoppe.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travelkenya?ref=ts

66) Rangechem Pharmaceuticals

Website: http://www.rangechem.co.ke/

67) Varsani Brakelinings

Website: http://varsanibrakelinings.com/

Home shopping. Is it a viable avenue for festive season sales?

Festus — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:26:29 +0000

image compliments of www.africaknows.com

Businesses try all manner of tactics to increase sales during the festive season: from raffles to promotions to discounts to roadshows to increased mentions on popular breakfast radio shows.

Festive season specific TV ads also increase, if not completely outshining other ads. But there is more that TV can do to catalyse your sales: home shopping. Home what? Home shopping means you pitch your festive season offers through a dedicated TV shopping programme such as the GBS TV. Customers then call a hotline, pay using a credit card or M-Pesa (GBS TV offers this option).

Star power

But for a home shopping network to work for your business during this festive season, operators will have to rewrite the script to reflect the season’s sales urgency. First, they will have to temporarily replace their current presenters and bring in celebrities who can push sales. People with a stage presence: We’re talking about Daniel Ndambuki aka Mwalimu King’ang’i, Maina Kageni, Eve de Souza, etc.

Second, operators will have to negotiate with TV stations with a national reach such as Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) or Citizen TV to get prime-time slots for their shopping programmes. In the late 80s for example, KBC (then known as VOK), used to screen a charity programme called Ring Us Up between after the 7pm news and before the 9pm news bulletins.

Third, still on the issue of star presenters, GBS TV will have to recruit presenters from the major ethnic groups to promote their wares to different audiences. And no it’s not tribalism, it’s just that we tend to readily trust those people who look like us, speak like us, share the same values like us… Still don’t believe it? Well, look at our voting patterns every five years.

Fourth, businesses will have to stick to their delivery timelines. If it’s 24 hours delivery after receipt of payment, then it’s 24 hours. No African time please. Otherwise, customers will stick with the malls they are used to.

These are the basic conditions that current home shopping networks have to implement before you consider placing your festive season offers on their advertising slots.

Pamoja Media sponsors SCOSIT hackathon

Festus — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:46:05 +0000

The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology’s (JKUAT) Society of Computer Science and Information Technology (SCOSIT) held its SCOSIT hackathon between 28/10/11 and 29/10/11. The theme was: ‘Using selected APIs to build real world apps’.

Ukulima.net, developed by Pamoja Media, was one of the application programming interfaces (APIs) the JKUAT students developed applications for. The winning group in the Friday 9pm- Saturday midday hackathon, led by Patrick Ndung’u, developed an application called Agri-Soko that enables registered ukulima.net users to sign in, connect, buy, sell, and also source for produce via Google Maps. Payments are made via PesaPal. “This was very catchy and easy to use,” says Evans Gikunda, one of Pamoja Media’s software developers and hackathon judges. Patrick’s three-group members each won a 500-GB external hard drive. Other APIs the 59 participants developed applications for were PesaPal and BEEP (a bill presentation, payments, real-time settlement and reconciliation system) for Cellulant.

Pamoja Media, PesaPal and Cellulant sponsored the SCOSIT hackathon. Below are some photos.

Briefing 101: Comark Maloba, Pamoja Media's chief technology officer, outlines the ukulima.net platform to the SCOSIT hackathon participants before the games began

Pamoja Media's Ishuah Kariuki (left), Comark Maloba (seated) and Evans Gikunda troubleshoot the ukulima.net platform

Well done: Pamoja Media's Ishuah Kariuki presents the 2nd-placed SCOSIT hackathon group with their prizes

You've hacked it: Amos Wachanga of the SCOSIT hackathon winning group receives his group's prizes from Bundi of Cellulant

Some of the SCOSIT hackathon partipants

Participants get on with the SCOSIT hackathon

Feet first: Pamoja Media's Ishuah Kariuki 'toklezearing' during the SCOSIT hackathon

Caffeine fix:Good thing Kenya is a major coffee producer

Use online marketing strategies to drive offline festive sales for your bricks and mortar business

Festus — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:13:38 +0000

image compliments of www.africaknows.com

The last two Pamoja Media posts have outlined how SME owners can use social gaming and email marketing to boost their sales during the 2011 festive marketing season. However, we realise some of you may not want to rely sorely on metrics such as Facebook Insights or Google Analytics to measure your festival marketing results. You want foot traffic to your bricks-and-mortar business and physical receipts to complement these tools.

Web appetizers

You will still need to debut your festive season offers online whether you use Facebook Ads, Google Adwords, or email marketing. The fine print will be that your customers will have to redeem the offers at your physical location. The advantage of this tactic is that you have an opportunity to introduce them to other products and services you provide through physically interacting with them, a chance that you can miss if you finalise the transaction online. If you run a coffee shop the better for your cash registers. Kenyans tend to shop in ‘packs’ during the festive season, so there’s no way the voucher winner will redeem the voucher and leave those accompanying her to spectate.

Location-based applications such as niko hapa can also aid your business increase sales during this festive season. Basically, location-based applications function like ‘live report’ transmission stations. People tell their friends via social media like Facebook that they have ‘checked in’ to your shop. You can then offer a discount which is normally stored in a quick response code to anyone who says they are in your establishment, in the hope that their friends will join them. But first observe whether a substantial number of your regular clients have smartphones before you opt for the location-based method. Basic handsets can’t scan quick-response codes.

Theatre and charity

But perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of online marketing-into-offline sales are theatre troupes and charities. Plays and charity concerts are a festive season staple. Both parties can promote their wares online, but require their audiences to buy the tickets at a physical location.

Using online marketing strategies to benefit your brick-and-mortar business is a great interactive strategy that should not only benefit your bottom line during this festive season, but also assist your brand to remain in your consumers’ minds even in the New Year.

Salute to these Kenyan SMEs for practising Internet marketing (part 1)

Festus — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:26:25 +0000

image courtesy: www.bdafrica.com

Today, Pamoja Media’s blog post salutes 40 Kenyan 2011 Top 100 SMEs that have enlisted a Web presence in their marketing armour. Kudos to those who have gone further to establish LinkedIn pages and YouTube channels in addition to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. The next roll of honour will appear soon.

1) Jungle Nuts Ltd: http://www.junglemacadamias.com/index.html

2) Pentapharm Ltd: http://www.pentapharm.co.ke/

3) Kema (EA) Ltd): http://www.kema.co.ke/, https://www.facebook.com/kema.nairobi

4) PG Bison (K) Ltd: http://www.pgbison.co.za/

5) Software Technologies: http://www.stl-horizon.com/

6) Kentons Ltd: http://www.kentons.net/, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kentons-Kisumu/172582906123085?sk=wall, Twitter: @kentonskisumu (http://twitter.com/#!/kentonskisumu)

7) SBO Research: http://www.sboresearch.co.ke

Lee Construction: http://www.leeconstruction.co.ke

9) Satguru Travels and Tours: http://www.satgurutravel.com/, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Satguru-Travels-Tours-Services-ltd/112818115426503?sk=wall&filter=12

10) Dawa Limited: www.dawalimited.com, http://www.linkedin.com/company/dawa-limited-kenya

11) Trans Business Machines: http://www.tbmlimited.com/@tbmmachinesKe, https://www.facebook.com/pages/TBM-Trans-Business-Machines/199575210077253

12) University of Nairobi Enterprise Services: http://www.uonbi.ac.ke/node/97, https://www.facebook.com/uonbi.ac.ke, Twitter: @uonbi (http://twitter.com/#!/uonbi)