Africa: YC and Future Africa backed Nigerian startup, Simplifyd launches ZeroData app to provide affordable internet to users in Africa [BI Africa Exclusive]

A significant uniqueness of ZeroData is the availability of fine-grained policies, which help organisations define who should have data-free access to their apps, how much data-free access each user gets, and how best to geolocate data-free access to users in a particular location, amongst others.

In Nigeria, data consumption is a growing concern. Reports say usage surged by 202.08 per cent in three years – 2018, 2019 and 2020 – according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission amidst growing data usage across Africa.

According to GSMA, Nigeria had 53 million smartphone connections in 2018, and GSMA estimates that smartphone connections will rise to 154 million by 2025. Experts believe the uptake in data usage across Africa is largely driven by mobile devices, with GSM having a large portion of the market.

Co-founder and CEO of Simplifyd, Tomi Amao, says ZeroData, was created out of a strong desire to solve Africa’s worrying data affordability challenge, alongside the drive to support greater digital inclusion across the continent.

According to the CEO, users will only need to download the Zerodata app available for mobile (Android) and desktop (macOS and Windows). This provides them with instant data-free access to listed apps & websites. The ZeroData platform also allows businesses to bundle data with their apps to make them accessible and data-free to those who need it most.

“ZeroData is designed to cater to both users with active data plans and those with none. For users with an active data plan, their data plan isn’t consumed when they use the application. Our app also enables users with no active data plans to enjoy uninterrupted access to the Internet apps listed on the platform.”

“For us, the realisation that Africans pay the highest rate for mobile internet proportional to income is worrying. This is a significant challenge that we are happy to solve sustainably through the launch of ZeroData. At the moment, smartphone penetration in Africa sits at 50%, and the numbers are steadily rising. What you’ll typically find is that the market favours low data apps, owing to prevailing realities around data affordability. Through ZeroData, we are creating a convenient platform to access the Internet away from the challenge of huge data consumption for the continent’s growing number of Internet users,” Amao concluded.

Simplifyd Systems Inc. was founded by Tomi Amao, Mayowa Amao, Sam Keiru and Abiola Fajimi in 2020. Today, the company has raised over $500,000 in pre-seed funding from YCombinator and Future Africa.