Former iBurst MD Alan Knott-Craig Jnr, through his technology investment company World of Avatar (WoA), has acquired a 50% stake in a free two-way SMS service, FSMS.
The service allows users to send and receive text messages at no cost from their PCs and cellphones. The service is sponsored by advertising, both on the company Web site and short demographically targeted ads on the bottom of the SMSes.
FSMS is planning to redistribute the advertising revenue to offer the free service to the public, and in the future, to expand into the rest of Africa.
According to the company, the service has already enjoyed local success, with over a million SMSes sent since inception, with an average of 25 000 SMSes sent daily.
The service is in the process of rolling out mobile applications, starting with the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry platforms.
Knott-Craig is confident that FSMS is a perfect match for his company, WoA, which develops applications to help Africans make money via their mobile phones and the Internet.
How it works
FSMS is accessible via the Web and WAP on a cellphone. FSMS is led by 21-year-old chemical engineering student Daniel Schwartzkopff and his business partner, software engineer and architect J"org Wunderlich. The project was initially funded by partner Johnny Graaff.
Schwartzkopff and Graaff are part of the Silicon Cape initiative, a non-profit, community-owned and driven movement supported by tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, marketers and other IT professionals. It serves to attract and bring together foreign and local investors, to promote the growth of world-class IP start-up companies in SA.
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