S&T Media Gets $1m Funding, Secures Deal With Total & Spar Nigeria

Technology venture capital firm EchoVC Partners have committed up to $1 million to Nigerian-based S&T Media. The funds are already being used to expand the company’s digital advertising network services at petrol stations across Africa’s biggest market.

S&T’s AdPump is the only digital advertising network in Africa to target consumers at petrol pumps.

The funds raised by S$T will be invested in expansion, product development, hardware and staff acquisition. The investment was secured after AdPump’s successful pilot to launch and install 160 screens across Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, in 17 strategically located filling stations.

S&T secured exclusive distribution deals for AdPump with a number of Nigeria’s filling station firms, including Oando Plc, Forte Oil and Total Plc. totalling 1,000 stations across Nigeria.

The company has also signed up key advertising partners including Etisalat, Jumia, Smile Communications, House on the Rock, GT Bank and Mall for Africa.

The deal with EchoVC Partners follows the exclusive retail deals S&T has secured with South Africa’s Spar and Spanish-based CityDia, to install their latest innovation, AdEdge, an in-store digital advertising screen that installs screens on the aisle shelves to bring commercials to the point of purchase.

“Since inception we wanted to create platforms that can give brands the location-based reach they crave in a more efficient and targeted manner. Securing institutional funding with the right investor has allowed us to accelerate that vision, as we rapidly develop and install platforms that connect brands with digitally-captivated consumers,” says Tolu Roberts, S&T co-founder.

“With EchoVC on board, we have found more than just an investor but also a partner who understands effective growth of tech start-ups. We are confident that we can penetrate the advertising market with our innovative platforms whilst leveraging on EchoVC’s strategic partnerships”.

Launched in 2014, AdPump has secured the sole distribution rights for 22 in-pump digital screens in Africa.

The AdPump team installs the digital media screens in filling stations and programmes them with advertising-supported content which is viewed at the pumps.

Thanks to content deals with some of Nigeria’s largest broadcasters, including Channels TV, HipTV and Pulse.Ng, to show the latest news, sports and entertainment news, AdPump screens have already recorded over eight million audited views, with each location recording more than 60,000 visitors per month and each visitor spending an average of 4-6 minutes at the station, up to 4 times a month.

Having secured advertising partnerships with some of Nigeria’s biggest brands, S&T Media are also looking to open the digital advertising space up to the country’s millions of SMEs and are rolling out an online media purchasing tool for those with more conservative ad-spend budgets.

Nigeria’s advertising spend currently stands at about $500 million a year, and according to PWC, is the fastest growing market in the world.

Capitalising on the continent’s fast-growing consumer class, and working with both homegrown and global brands to connect products & services with end users, AdPump is marrying the latest technology with hyper-targeted messaging.