What customers tend to benefit from NairaWin, by Edu

Olusegun Edu is the Executive Director, VASCOM, a digital company providing value-added services. The firm offers products, including content, ticketing, lottery, entertainment and gaming.

In this interview with ADEYEMI ADEPETUN, the chief executive spoke on NairaWin, a new online betting platform, and the unique experience it holds for prospective users.

What is NairaWin all about?
NairaWin is a new innovative eCommerce platform, where Nigerians can bid as low as N100 and win products like cars, smartphones, electronics, jewelry and others. Users can also win cash prices. We discovered that an average Nigerian wants new things and big things. But with N100, they can now realise the lofty dream through this platform.

How can one participate in the game?
It is the first of its kind where customers with a nominal entry ticket of ₦100 to ₦500 can aspire to win a mega prize like iPhone, laptop, car, LCD television as well as many other consolation prizes like airtime, data bundle and mobile accessories, among others. Customers can bid through SMS, USSD and web modes. This product is service-based – mobile and web applications. It is participatory and a game of chance. Users purchase one or more ₦100 tickets for a selected item. Product price and ticket quantity are subject to retail price and volume sold.

The NairaWin platform provides a network space for the sale of various commodities in the “share sale” mode. On this platform, goods are divided into numerous equal shares, and participants can buy one or more shares using the official NairaWin website or mobile application. There is no caveat on the number of times one can play. The more one plays, the higher the chances of winning.

Security is crucial to businesses such as this. How secure is the platform?
The platform is very safe. Our team worked hard on safety, which we considered as the most important aspect. We have invested a lot in security architecture to ensure that every individual’s database is protected. We have partnered with a telecommunications firm, Airtel, and we are very happy about the partnership. It has been simplified to the extent that you can use your airtime to play as many times as possible.

Our partnership with Airtel shows that we are serious about what we are doing. Also, if you don’t have an Airtel line, you can play directly from our platform, even with other networks. Like I said earlier, the platform is very safe.

What about other telecommunications firms?
Like I said, if you have MTN, Glo, 9Mobile and you want to play, you can come to the platform and play directly. We are still at the talking stage with other operators. As soon as we get that completed, we shall communicate all stakeholders.

Is NairaWin registered with the Nigeria Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC)?
Definitely! We have their backing. Of course, you know we could not have been doing this without proper registration with the relevant authorities.

But let me explain more! VASCOM is the parent company. It is a digital company creating products and services. At VASCOM, we have the lottery licence and all requirements to do this business. More digital products will be rolled out in the future. Our target is to contribute significantly to Nigeria’s digital economy drive. The sole reason we are pushing our operations digitally.

If you look at what the Nigerian Communications Communication (NCC) is doing in pushing for a digital economy, it shows that the future of Nigeria would be driven digitally, and anybody or organisation that fails to connect now might have challenges in the future. So for us at VASCOM, NairaWin is one of the products we are pushing digitally and offering to the market. So, many things still need to be done. Our team is working seriously to develop solutions for the large market in the country.

What is unique about NairaWin?
NairaWin is first of its kind. If you look at the combination –eCommerce, bidding, gaming and others – you will agree with me that we can attract more users. It is a platform that enables you to bet for good products like cars, iPhone, ACs, generating sets, among others.

When the person wins, we make sure that he or she is contacted as quickly as possible. So, there are no restrictions.

Why the involvement of Bro Shaggy?
He is one of our partners, and we are very excited about the partnership. We see him as somebody that can drive the brand. He has what Nigerians want. We foresee a long-term partnership that would push the brand.

Lottery is a game. Users must keep playing to win. You may not play once and win, but when you are consistent, the chances are higher.

Besides Lagos, which other areas are you visible?
As a Nigerian brand, we are everywhere. Our target is to expand to other African countries soonest. We are working fast on that. It is a long-term strategy.