The pay-as-you-go entertainment platform, Monsooq, is now available in Nigeria. Launched by Mondia, a leading mobile technology company specialising in the marketing and distribution of digital content, Monsooq is a time-based entertainment platform that brings what it describes as a world-class recommendation engine to ensure consumers find the content they love. The platform is now officially available in South Africa, and Nigeria.

Monsooq is the first-of-its kind model which utilises time as the currency. Users pay only for the time they spend consuming content and are not required to take out any contracts or subscriptions.

Whether a consumer wishes to play a game for 30 minutes while commuting, or binge a new series for six hours, they are able to load that amount of time to their profile securely using a debit or credit card. And when their time ends, they simply top up with more.

Consumers can buy entertainment time just as they would mobile airtime and use that time to consume any content they choose, including movies, sports, educational content, books, series, games and music – all on a single, convenient, end-to-end entertainment platform. New users will receive 60 minutes complimentary access and a 50% discount on content during the launch, after which pricing is NGN20 per hour.

Mondia says it believes that Nigeria is a great local content hub for Africa with its media and entertainment industry, Nollywood, providing world-class content. Nigeria is also currently the second-largest film producer in the world in terms of number of movies. The local industry employs about one million people and generates over US$7 billion for the economy, and Mondia is excited to help provide another platform for this content.

The company says it sees exceptional potential in the continent. According to research conducted by PwC South Africa in 2019, entertainment and media (E&M) spend in Nigeria saw a 25.5% rise in E&M revenue in 2017 to US$3.8bn.

In December 2019 more Africans (526 million) accessed the internet than North Americans. And there is still massive potential for growth: Africa has a total internet penetration level of just under 40%, as compared to penetration in the rest of the world of 63.2%. While streaming services have proliferated across Africa, there is an increasing need to deliver enhanced value, choice, and innovation in terms of pricing and content.

Monsooq also represents a new frontier of content monetisation for entertainment providers, giving them direct access to customers who are not interested in a traditional subscription model.