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 4AM English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

TCS+ | Specops' Darren James on continuous trust in an AI world

Specops Software’s Darren James explains why identity checks alone no longer stop determined attackers. Traditional approaches to access security no longer hold up in hybrid, cloud-first environments – and AI is widening the gap. In this episode, host Kevin Smith speaks to Darren James, senior product manager at Specops Software,…
7 Aug 4AM 45 min

TCS+ | Why South African workers must become supervisors of digital labour

ADG’s Cliff de Wit on why the next management challenge is overseeing teams of autonomous software agents. Not long ago, organisations were experimenting with generative AI to draft e-mails, summarise documents and answer questions. Today agentic AI is changing what the technology is for. In a conversation on TechCentral’s TCS+…
31 Jul 4AM 43 min

Icasa's rules skip the real bottleneck: ACT

Communications regulator Icasa’s draft rapid deployment regulations – a critical intervention for the sector – risk failing unless the regulator brings municipalities into the process, according to Nomvuyiso Batyi, CEO of the Association of Comms & Technology (ACT). Speaking on the TechCentral Show with TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod, Batyi said…
30 Jul 4AM 29 min

How Optasia lends billions to people banks can’t see

Optasia is on target to distribute more than US$6-billion in credit across its markets in 2026 – and it carries every cent of the default risk itself. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, CEO Salvador Anglada unpacks how the JSE’s biggest recent fintech listing actually works. Formerly known as…
23 Jul 9AM 25 min

Pick n Pay’s Enrico Ferigolli on Penny, the AI that shops for you

Pick n Pay has switched on an AI shopping companion called Penny inside its asap! app, and in this episode of the TechCentral Show, retail executive for omnichannel Enrico Ferigolli takes editor Duncan McLeod through what it does and why it matters. Built on Google's Gemini models, Penny lets customers…
2 Jul 9AM 23 min