South African point of sale (PoS) and airtime distribution startup Nomanini has partnered ICT provider Paratus Telecom to launch a mobile airtime distribution service in Namibia, making it the tenth country in which Nomanini has formed a partnership.
The service, named “Katiti”, runs on Nomanini’s cloud-based mobile PoS platform and is aimed at informal traders and budding entrepreneurs.
“We wanted to bring something new to the market – something that would not only benefit us, and the millions of people who use prepaid phones, but that would also give entrepreneurial individuals an opportunity to supplement their incomes,” said John D’Alton, managing director for Namibia at Paratus Telecom.
Local vendors are provided with a brightly coloured and virtually indestructible terminal – a “business in a box” – from which they can sell prepaid airtime vouchers. The cloud-based platform allows vendors to simply “upload” airtime when they have internet access, though reselling does not require any connectivity or even electricity.
The vendor can simply select the type and amount of airtime to be sold and a voucher is printed within seconds. The device’s battery lasts for five days and can be fully charged within eight hours.
Vahid Monadjem, chief executive officer (CEO) of Nomanini, said the company was looking forward to embarking on its Namibian journey with Paratus.
Nomanini, which has expanded beyond South Africa to the likes of Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia and Guinea, in August announced it had received US$450,000 in funding from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to launch operations outside of Africa.
It was just the latest round of funding for the company, taking its total raised capital to over US$2.3 million following a February investment from Seychelles-based investment company Rockbridge Investments.
