Howler vocal about its ambitions across Africa

Howler, the tickets and payment app, believes that it can achieve dominance in Africa as global ticketing companies are “scared” of its home market.

The Johannesburg-based platform, which is owned by Nutickets, comprises ticket services, a cashless payment system and an access control system for events.

Howler believes its offering makes attending an event easier for the public, as they are able to conveniently store their tickets and cash in one place.

In an interview with the MediaUpdate.co.za website, Howler chief executive and Nutickets co-founder Shai Evian said Howler will also be beneficial for event organisers, who can collect an “unbelievable” amount of data from attendees.

While Howler is not a unique concept, Evian added that it can take advantage of a global reluctance to investigate opportunities in Africa.

“The big international ticketing companies are scared of Africa, so we are hoping to get a footprint on the continent, and see what happens,” Evian told MediaUpdate.

“The eventing and outdoor festival market is exploding globally, which opens up a lot of opportunities. Africa, historically, is a very complex market from a payments perspective, so it’s quite challenging.

“Each market is different in terms of the payments they use, from mobile money, to credit cards, to non-credit cards and so on. We are working with festivals in East Africa and Nigeria where we are going to be running some pilots over the next couple of months.”

Howler has recently partnered with the likes of the Cape Town 10s rugby event and the Ultra 2017 music festival, and claim to be in discussions with a couple of well-known events in Johannesburg.

Evian told MediaUpdate that events operators have reported that the use of the Howler platform is leading to an increase in spending.

“It is easier for people to spend,” said Evian. “We are seeing better transaction processing times at the bar itself, with the bartenders not having to deal with cash, credit cards, or change. It removes one layer of friction between the vendor and the consumer.”