SA`s three cellular networks are, for the first time, working together to provide a single premium SMS number for charity competition, WiniKhaya.
WiniKhaya is a national promotion in which one South African wins a R500 000 house every month. This ongoing competition is an ongoing fundraising solution for the beneficiary charities of the South African Children`s Charity Trust (SACCT).
The promotion is advertised on television and radio, and invites participants to enter by SMSing the word "house" to 082 003 7373.
Mira Networks, the provider of the mobile value-added services platform to WiniKhaya, was able to organise the co-operation of the three national networks for this campaign, so that each entry could be billed at R7.50, a portion of which goes to SACCT.
This is the first time that Cell C has offered a premium SMS service. "We made this service available to WiniKhaya for this specific event, however, it is not a commercially available service at this time," says Calwyn Costa, Cell C product development specialist for messaging products. "We made an exception for WiniKhaya because of the amount of emphasis that is being put on the event and because the proceeds are going to a charity organisation."
SMS fundraising was introduced to SA in May by Social Innovations, the company that is managing the mobile campaign and technology platform on behalf of the SACCT.
"The power of SMS fundraising is that it encourages the public to respond to an invitation to participate in the instant," says Kimon Phitidis, MD of Social Innovations. "There is no telephone pledging or giving out credit card numbers - the benefit to the charity is that collection is instant and guaranteed."
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