Moya Messenger reaches a million users

Gour Lentell, chairman of biNu

The key differentiator between Moya and WhatsApp is that no data cost is incurred by users to send and receive 1 to 1 or group messages – and visit a range of #datafree websites and apps.

Moya has grown virally with little promotion providing a much-valued service as the cost of data continues to be a problem for millions of South Africans. The Alliance for Affordable Internet found that in Q4 of 2018, 1 GB of data in South Africa costs 2.3% of average income, higher than the Alliance’s affordability threshold of 2% or less of average income.

For enterprises looking for new and innovative ways to engage with mass-market mobile users in South Africa, Moya includes the “Discover” feature, where people engage with #datafree digital content and services.

biNu helps commercial businesses, public agencies, NGOs, not-for-profits and other organisations to build content for Discover, including full and micro websites, apps, full-screen video advertising and surveys.

As the content in Discover is all #datafree, visitors are extremely engaged, active and responsive. Early adopter companies that are successfully interacting with Moya’s one million users through Discover include Tiso Blackstar, Cosmopolitan magazine, Assupol Insurance, iQ Academy, Adzuna Job Search, Kuba Services, WeMarket, Sanlam Insurance, DirectAxis, Arial, Nivea and Project UBU.

Justin McCarthy, chief executive of Project UBU which has developed a new digital token of exchange, said "The Moya app has allowed us to provide our entire app data-free directly to our target market. The results have been nothing short of spectacular. We have grown our engagement rate with our user base by a factor of 10x and are seeing interaction rates with our adverts placed in Discover 3-4 times higher than that which we obtain in conventional social media channels. Moya has been a game changer for our business!"

Gour Lentell, co-founder of biNu said, “The viral success of Moya shows the strong value proposition of #datafree messaging – plus users are also happy to explore, engage and interact with #datafree content from all types of organisations.

Moya provides an audience platform of hard-to-reach mobile users that consumer brand companies and others struggle to reach through traditional online marketing channels. Our model enables enterprises to reach and engage with mass-market mobile audiences through the use of toll-free data services”.

Moya is available on Android platforms and will soon be available on iOS. It can be downloaded from the Google Play Store as well as a #datafree download from www.datafree.co/moya-messenger-app