Singularity Investments just announced they’ve invested an undisclosed sum into mobile advertising startup, Sliide Airtime.
Sliide Airtime is a privately-held technology company with offices in Lagos and London. Its a content delivery platform that changes how people interact with their phones by subsidising their airtime. They do this by gifting consumers with free airtime in return for engaging with news and content delivered to the lock screen of their device.
The platform works by providing users with personalised content based on their interests, an information they would have already entered into the Sliide database. Users then receive news and entertainment from local and international media, as well as branded and sponsored content. Mobile network operators also benefit through shared advertising revenues and increased user engagement.
CEO and co-founder of Sliide Airtime, Corbyn Munnik talked about this new funding saying, “The response to our launch in Nigeria was phenomenal and exceeded expectations. Our business model has proven successful, and we welcome Singularity’s involvement as we continue to grow the company.”
This recent investment is another yet another move confirming Singularity’s commitment to improving telecoms market in Nigeria. It’s the second one they’ve made so far, the first being last month’s funding of Asoko Insight, a corporate market intelligence startup.
Speaking on the investment, Singularity Investments Principal, Issam Darwish said, “Sliide has an innovative business model that enables operators and consumer brands to achieve sustainable customer engagement in competitive environments, while enhancing the value of the mobile experience for their customers. We believe that, by combining the innovative ideas and skills of the Sliide team with our expertise in scaling pan-African businesses, the Sliide platform is just the first of the company’s disruptive mobile-based products that will add tremendous value to the mobile ecosystem across Africa.”
Sliide Airtime has partnered with a variety of organisations to deliver branded content, including Google, Facebook’s Audience Network, and Twinpine, the largest mobile advertising network in Africa and part of Africa’s leading digital media business, Terragon Group.
The company hopes to use this new funding to expand its operations in Nigeria. Another funding round planned for later this year will be used to fund its expansion to other African countries like South Africa, Ghana and Kenya.
