Absa is changing the digital content game by sponsoring the deployment in mini bus taxis of a wi-fi device that enables commuters to access content in seconds and without using their own data.

For most commuters, this will enable them for the first time to take full advantage of their smart phone functionality for free. For many, it will represent their only affordable means of accessing the Internet.

By using an app called Moovah! in a taxi that carries the Moovah! logo, they can connect to the Moovah! Wi-Fi platform and download music, games, videos, and articles on to their smartphones. They can also browse the Internet by using a daily data quota they earn simply by connecting to the Moovah! Wi-Fi system. When they run short of data, they can earn additional  points by participating in surveys, providing their personal details, and watching adverts on their daily commute. They can convert these points into data or they can choose to purchase premium content.

For brands, Moovah! offers an unprecedented opportunity to directly target very specific consumers. The system is geo-specific. It knows where on a given taxi route a consumer is. Brands are therefore able to offer deals and specials and collect consumer insights specific to a taxi route. Also for the first time, because Moovah! uses cached content and is not dependent on telephony networks, brands are able to interact with commuters in multi-media format without commuters needing to use their own data and without disrupted or slow connectivity. With the average commuter spending 65 minutes a day in a taxi, brands can spend significant time with their target audience.

Taxi operators offering the Moovah! service will become preferred providers for commuters, increasing their revenue streams. And, they will earn revenue as a media outlet for organisations using Moovah! to promote their products.

Matt Hunter head of savings and investments at Absa says that Moovah! is a rare win-win for all stakeholders. “Everyone involved gets something they’ve never had before – and, indeed, was not possible before. The foundation of all the benefits is digital connectivity, which reduces the cost and effort of communication. This enables people to move more easily from the informal to the formal economy and puts more money into circulation within commuters’ communities.

Supporting the roll out of Moovah! therefore fits very comfortably into our mandate as an enabling bank for individuals and businesses. It positions us once again to help South Africans add value to their lives.”

The technology behind Moovah!, developed by the Winjit Technologies, an Indian based technology firm with global reach, is new to South Africa and has been customised to work in a taxi using a behavior based app. This is the first time it has been used in this particular way anywhere in the world.

OnRoot, whose brainchild Moovah! is, has partnered with SA Taxi, South Africa’s largest independent financer of mini bus taxis, in the deployment of the device in selected minibus taxis. SA Taxi’s advanced telematics system makes it easy to identify which routes should be used and enables the taxis to be tracked, making the management of marketing campaigns more effective. In addition, the taxis carrying the Moovah! device are owned by SA Taxi’s premier customers, adding to the desirability of the Moovah! service for commuters, brands, and content providers alike.

Megan Harrison, CEO and founder of OnRoot, says that, when Moovah was in the design phase, commuters were asked what they would most want from an app.

“Access to relevant information and the ability to communicate with their social network was their first priority. Most South Africans can access the Internet only from their phones. However, data packages are prohibitively expensive for the average person.

“By eliminating the cost of accessing content and removing the frustration of buffering or slow download speeds, we’ve addressed multiple social needs in one simple offering. In the process, we are changing taxi commuting forever.”