Pocit launches mobile Internet political donations in South Africa

Pocit, specialist in secure mobile phone payments, has launched a new service in South Africa. Users can now use their mobiles to donate money to political parties, with Pocit keeping 5% of each donation. In return, users get access to party logo’s and ringtones via a WAP site, developed by Strike Media.

From the release:

“The Obama campaign is famous for the remarkably effective way it used the Internet to raise millions of small donations from ordinary people,” says Russel Stromin of Strike Media. “In South Africa the cellphone is the only way for the vast majority of people to get online.”

Source: http://www.bizcommunity.com/Snippet/196/78/9023.html

What we think?

It’s no surpruse that Russel Stroming mentioned the Obama campaign. Since his rallying of voters via SMS, the amount of text campaigns we’ve seen from political and charitable bodies has rocketed. Nine political parties have already joined the service from Pocit, with one collecting over 6,000 euro in the first week the service was launched - which also represents over 300 euro for Pocit. In a country where mobile Internet is king, this service could be a tidy money spinner. Depending, of course, on how many people actually fancy texting money to a political party.