George Katuramu, the Ticteq Director (PHOTO /Courtesy)
KAMPALA — For those that have attended events in Uganda, you are familiar with the hustle and bustle involved in buying entry tickets. This includes long queues, higher prices than originally advertised and fraudsters selling fake tickets among other issues.
But all this will soon be history; if event organizers and revelers can incorporate technology in the ticketing journey.
Already on the market is a solution that brings together event organizers and party-goers on a single online platform called Ticteq.
Ticteq is an online ticketing company that deals in events ticketing and crowd funding. So far, the platform has sold over ten thousand (10,000) tickets, has sixty thousand (60,000) subscribers and has digitally transacted in excess of sixty million shillings (UGX 60m).
According to George Katuramu, the Ticteq Director, the solution has allowed event organizers to shift from the slow, costly and inconveniencing manual process to a digital one that allows them to register and upload their events on the Ticteq platform for potential customers to purchase tickets.
Using the platform, event organisers can contact people who have bought tickets, and customers can also get refunds in case they are unable to attend.
“This is a complete solution for someone who wants to organize a successful event, without worrying about tickets, fake notes, coins or being cheated at the entrance,” Katuramu says, adding that one simply visits the Ticteq website to buy a ticket using either MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money or a credit card. The money is automatically remitted to the event organizer’s mobile or bank account.
He further explains that even though the long COVID-19 lockdown set them back, the platform is fast picking up given that it gives events stakeholders a variety of advantages including safety and settling transactions in real time.
“We were affected by COVID-19 because all events were cancelled. But since we resumed events, we are picking up from where we had stopped. We have already had a few successful events and there is hope and growth.”
Away from ticketing, Ticteq is also offering a crowd-funding product that allows people to share their causes with the public, and raise funds to address their pressing needs.
The causes supported by this platform, according to Katuramu, can range from education to medical to social, among others.
“With our portal, you can always know who donated, the total number of people who donated and the total amount donated and you can withdraw the money to your mobile money account or a bank account at any time. When a person makes a donation, the benefactor automatically receives the money instantly at no cost,” he says.
Although the product would salvage many people who we usually see on social media platforms conversing for financial support, Katuramu notes that most Ugandans are yet to appreciate the power of crowd funding.
“Most Ugandans think that crowd funding is for people who need organ transplant or surgery which is not true; it is for everyone. You may need tuition to complete your education or need money to travel, you can raise it through crowd funding,” he says.
“Simply share your story, giving details of what you need to do and how you want to do it. The people who will like your story and get touched to contribute towards the cause; they will do so,” he explains.
Ticteq is the sixth participant of the 2022 40-Days 40-FinTechs initiative.
Now in its third edition, #40Days40FinTechs has quickly grown into one of the world’s premier showcase events for the innovations that are enabling ever more people to join the digital economy space.
That is surely going to remain the case, in large part due to the inspiration and collaboration that our partners Level One Project, Mojaloop, ModusBox, and Crosslake Technologies generate, but mostly because of the continuing generous support of the Gates Foundation.
Digital Innovators and FinTechs around East Africa should be more eager to embrace 40 Days 40 FinTechs as Season three covers physical destinations in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda.
Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products & Services and also share their ideas on how more of us, especially those unserved and underserved by the present financial systems, can be brought into the fold.
The 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative offers participants useful tools and an introduction to the industry’s emerging technologies, such as Mojaloop Open Source Software, and guidance from Level One Project foundational material. The skills gained from this initiative cover Level One Project Principles, Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), Inclusive Finance and FinTech in general.
According to HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya, this year’s edition will cement achievements of the previous editions – where over 60 FinTechs have been transformed – but also build on them to leverage digital financial inclusion in East Africa and beyond.
“As HiPipo, our extensive effort and advocacy is partly for the intention of championing digital innovation and interoperable instant and inclusive payment systems (IIPS) in Africa to a point where our innovators enjoy and achieve sound profit margins to help them keep designing and deploying affordable and inclusive financial services for the poor,” Kawooya said.
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