A new data-free messaging app called launched recently in South Africa hoped to break down the cost barrier to mobile messaging app adoption.
The new app Moya Messenger will pay for the data in the hopes of building an audience large enough to be attractive to marketers. In other words, consumers will not pay for the data, but they will be by offering their eyeballs to brands. It’s a tradeoff that many app users are familiar with. The free version has ads. The paid version is free.
Rolling out the app requires parent company biNu to make reverse billing deals with local carriers. To roll out in South Africa, the app has cut deals with Cell C, MTN, Vodacom and Telkom to zero rate app usage. This means no data charges and users can access the app event wen they’ve maxed out on their airtime or data plan.
The app currently has about 40,000 active users, tracking to 100,000 by the end of September.
In an interview with The Media Online, parent company biNu CEO Gour Lentell expressed confidence that the business model was sound.
“Our strategy is to use data-free messaging to build a large audience on the messaging platform and then open it up to businesses and enterprises to communicate with their audiences through the platform. There are a lot of companies in South Africa who would be willing to pay for the data costs to communicate with their audience.”
The app seems well suited to break through the data barrier to wider adoption of popular messaging apps like WhatsApp. The big question is, will biNu make enough revenue off its audience to offset the data charges it is covering. That will require considerable scale.