NepalAdz describes itself as a SMS-based C2C online classified ad board. The Nepal-based startup is quite new and is only partnering with one local site, Onlinekhabar.com, to begin with. Ads can be posted to NepalAdz by sending a simple SMS: ICLD P1 ≶ad content> to 5006. The ad will then be shown in the widget box which is pictured on the right. Up to 50 ads will be displayed.
Founder James Singh claims that each ad gets about 200,000 impressions per day on average and over 1,000 advertisers have used its service so far. The service is free to use/spam but users can get a permanent top placement slot if they pay for premium services.
The startup is an interesting one because it doesn’t require any internet connection for Nepal mobile users to connect with internet users. It’s even better than Twitter since you do not even need to set up an account, thus lowering the entry barrier. But I admit I do have doubts about whether the model would be able to scale. Spam is certainly one thing that the company faces and someone has to manually curate the ads to ensure that the content is safe for children. Nonetheless, the seed idea is pretty sweet. There’s something in there, I think.
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