A new mobile micro-jobbing service - set to go live in about a week - aims to give businesses, government and non-governmental organisations a means of crowdsourcing information and interacting with the South African public.
The new service, M4JAM (Money for Jam) launches on 11 August on social network and messaging app WeChat.
Founded by business veterans Andre Hugo as CEO and Warren Venter as chief operating officer, M4JAM enables businesses to outsource "micro jobs" to registered jobbers, and pay them for their work via the platform.
M4JAM says the service also aims to help people struggling to make ends meet "as it empowers anyone with a smart phone to earn 'easy' money by completing a job that takes no longer than ten minutes".
Hugo outlines the concept: "M4JAM breaks large projects into small tasks, empowering many geographically dispersed people to quickly and independently complete the tasks using their phones in exchange for payment.
"The value proposition includes completing tasks at a significantly lower cost than outsourcing to a traditional supplier, as well as directly accessing a unique and positive channel for continuous engagement with customers in real time."
M4JAM hopes the service will appeal to the majority of South Africans - from those who just want to make money to buy extra airtime, to those who really need to earn money to make ends meet.
Jobs include taking a photo of a restaurant entrance to confirm the name of the business at a specific location, speed limit and road name confirmation for mapping businesses and government, merchandising display checks and stock control for retailers and surveys completed via a mobile phone to gather insights or refine product innovation.
"The client simply confirms a batch of micro jobs and funds the project, and M4JAM posts these jobs on their behalf. After completion, M4JAM sends the finished work package to the business."
Local terrain
Hugo says, in light of SA's high unemployment rate, rising inflation, and the difficulty many face in sustaining themselves, M4JAM has the potential to make a positive impact on lives.
He notes that, with smartphone penetration on the increase and the price of devices declining, "it's only a matter of time until everybody can afford a smartphone".
The WeChat format also lends itself to gamification elements, referrals and the sharing of additional rewards and discounts, adds Hugo.
Head of WeChat Africa, Brett Loubser, says the company's partnership with M4JAM means it is one step closer to realising WeChat's potential in SA - "to become a central point of contact for people's lives, both online and offline".
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