WITH Africa's mobile Value Added Service (VAS) market estimates expected to reach $11.5 billion by 2014, Rancard, a software company has initiated a platform with the purpose of increasing Nigeria's share of the market.Specifically, Rancard, which puts Nigeria's share of the market at 30 per cent, noted that it has become highly imperative to deepen VAS market in Nigeria, due to the largeness of the country's telecoms market.According to the company, it is creating an avenue for application and content developers in the country to tap the continent's burgeoning mobile VAS market by assisting them monitise their offerings, adding that it could offer assistance to mobile operators' to drive up non-voice revenues through cloud-based technologies.The software firm informed that over the years, there has been increased demand for VAS, but the ecosystem has remained a secondary focus for most operators.Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos at the weekend, Rancard's Chief Executive Officer, Kofie Dadzie stated that with steady decline in telecoms operators Average Revenue per User (ARPU) with voice services accounting for the bulk of telecoms revenues, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are increasingly looking for feasible ways to increase data revenues by delivering targeted content to their teeming subscribers.Indeed, a searchlight beamed on ARPU in Nigeria by UK based, Business Monitor International forecasts that ARPU, which stood at N1, 100 in 2011, has declined to N941 in 2012.With support from Intel Capital and Adlevo Capital Managers, LLC, a private equity fund manager focused on investments into technology-enabled businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, Dadzie said Rancard was poised to benefit from the growth in mobile data services.According to him, Rancard had since 2001 established itself as a trusted provider of cloud-based mobile software and services, which Africa's mobile operators are increasingly turning to. 'As voice-based average revenue per user declines, telecoms companies are increasingly using our content discovery platform to profitably increase data revenues by delivering targeted content to their subscribers.'We have developed a cloud-based social recommendations engine called 'Rendezvous', which maps connections among mobile users and ultimately uses this mapping of shared interests as a basis for recommending content to consumers.'He disclosed that Rancard would help application and content developers to provide markets for their innovations both in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.Dadzie disclosed that Rancard intends to play a pivotal role in Nigeria's cashless economy drive. 'As a software company, we have built a platform that would enable content creators and owners of merchandise who are targeting mobile networks and mobile users to be able to talk to them regardless of which mobile wallet or m-payment solution they are using.At a post event interview, the Chief Product Officer, Ehizogie Binitie, pointed out that there existed huge opportunity for Nigerian innovation beyond the borders of Nigeria. 'We are basically creating a conducive environment where the barriers for really smart Nigerians who are creating value everyday is significantly reduced.'According to him, the firm is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between content owners and mobile operators and is poised to benefit from the growth in mobile data services.Giving some insight into why Intel Capital is investing in Rancard, General Manager, Europe, Middle East, Africa of Intel Corporation, Christian Morales, noted that the company provides a wide range of services that are well placed to meet consumers' rapidly shifting demands, particularly as the market for cloud based mobile content grows.'The company provides a platform for mobile operators to connect with relevant audiences. Rancard is a company that has a promising future and as such we feel it could benefit not just from access to our capital, but also from our global network and technological expertise.
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