How MoyaApp is taking on WhatsApp, and winning

Loading player...
The “data-free” messaging app MoyaApp, which already has six million active monthly users in South Africa, is working hard to become as big as WhatsApp in the country.
The app’s founder, Gour Lentell, joins Duncan McLeod on TechCentral's technology show, TC|Daily, to talk about how the development of the app is progressing.
Lentell talks about the history of MoyaApp, how it’s able to offer “data-free” messaging to people who don’t have data or airtime, and why he believes this is a winning proposition in a country where Meta Platforms-owned WhatsApp has become entrenched.
In this episode of TC|Daily, Lentell unpacks:
• MoyaApp’s business model
• Its growth projections
• His background and how he came to create MoyaApp
• Why MoyaApp is succeeding in South Africa when China’s WeChat failed
• The evolution of instant messaging in South Africa, from Mxit to BBM to WhatsApp
• Super apps and their role in the ecosystem – including a discussion on Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter
• MoyaApp’s monetisation model
• MoyaPay, fintech and a cashless economy
Don’t miss this insightful discussion about a homegrown app taking on global giants.
17 Oct 2022 1AM English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

Barney Harmse on building Paratus Group – and working with Starlink

Paratus Group executive chairman Barney Harmse joins the TechCentral Show to share the story of the telecommunications group’s rise from small beginnings in Angola and Namibia more than 20 years ago and how it became one of Southern Africa’s biggest ICT infrastructure players. Paratus started life in Angola in 2003,…
3 Sep 6AM 56 min

Maziv goes massive: CEO Dietlof Mare on Vumatel’s big roll-out plans

Maziv, the company that owns Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa, plans to spend R12-billion over the next five years as its ramps its deployment of fibre infrastructure across South Africa. Poised for a big injection of cash and assets from Vodacom, which is buying a 30% co-controlling stake in the…
26 Aug 5AM 52 min

The story behind Nedbank’s R1.65-billion iKhokha deal

Nedbank announced last week that it was acquiring Durban-based fintech iKhokha in a R1.65-billion deal that could signal the start of further consolidation in the payments industry in South Africa. Nedbank described the deal as a “significant milestone” in its strategy to target small and medium enterprises. iKhokha co-founder and…
22 Aug 2AM 26 min

Alan Knott-Craig unveils Fibertime’s big bet on township fibre

Alan Knott-Craig’s new fibre internet business has been flying below the radar for some time now, but the serial telecommunications entrepreneur has finally unpacked his plans for the business. Speaking to the TechCentral Show this week, Knott-Craig – who has led a range of well-known tech businesses, including Mxit, World…
15 Aug 2AM 22 min

Pick n Pay’s Enrico Ferigolli on building asap! and taking on Shoprite

Although Shoprite Group stole a march on many of South Africa’s retailers in on-demand online grocery delivery during the Covid-19 lockdowns, Pick n Pay has a clear plan to make up lost ground and compete aggressively for market share. Enrico Ferigolli, who co-founded the liquor delivery app Bottles – which…
14 Aug 5AM 49 min