Unlocking revenue: how African businesses can transform conversations into profit
- Dumisani Sigogo
- Aug 18
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 19
By Dumisani Sigogo
Lagos, Nigeria- African customer engagement startup Bunce is reshaping how telecoms, fintech, and retail players interact with users—moving from mass broadcasts to timely, behaviour-based communication that directly drives revenue and retention.
With over 1.1 billion user actions and 55 million messages tracked in just 7 months, uncovering what Co-founder and CEO of the a data-driven customer engagement platform, Paul Ayuk calls “a new playbook for African digital engagement.”
“It’s not about sending more messages,” Ayuk told ICT Journal.Africa. “It’s about knowing when and why to engage so every interaction adds value—for the customer and the business.”
Bunce’s platform enables real-time, personalised communication across WhatsApp, SMS, email, and in-app messaging. For fintechs, this means automated onboarding nudges, payment reminders, and reactivation flows; for telecoms, usage-based offers and expiry alerts; and for retailers, cart recovery prompts and personalised discounts.
The results are striking. Some clients have recorded 200% higher activation rates, retention gains of 35%, and in some cases, deposit rates soaring by up to 1000%.
From its data, Bunce highlights four key trends in African markets:
Speed matters: Messages sent within 5–10 minutes of a user action are up to five times more effective.
Generic blasts are dying: Personalised, behaviour-based campaigns outperform mass sends by 40%.
Multi-channel wins: Combining channels like WhatsApp and SMS boosts retention.
Retention equals growth: Keeping users active yields better ROI than constant acquisition drives.
Beyond performance, Bunce emphasises compliance. The platform is Nigeria Data Protection Regulation certified, operates on AWS’s secure infrastructure, and undergoes regular security audits.
As African digital adoption accelerates, Ayuk sees engagement platforms as part of the continent’s infrastructure shift.
“We’re helping businesses scale locally, in local currencies, and with a deep understanding of African consumers,” he said. “That’s how you build loyalty—and growth—that lasts.”
Recently, Bunce announced an integration with Nigerian payments gateway Monnify.
