Wednesday, November 13African Digital Business Magazine

Startups can drive economic development in South Africa, but these are the tools they need

Adbot is empowering Pre-Seed and Seed startups to access new markets

South Africa’s economy is driven by small businesses, which are expected to have created around 90% of all new jobs by 2030[1]. Many of these jobs are likely to be created by start-ups, new businesses that scale quickly and add significant economic value. But these start-ups face one barrier that is often overlooked: the challenges of building an online footprint and access markings.

Online advertising can be a costly exercise. Around 40% of funding to start-ups ends up with Google, Facebook, and Amazon for advertising costs[2]. This means that a large chunk of Venture Capital investments ends up with big tech firms instead of building start-ups like it’s supposed to.

But now, there is an initiative to help small businesses advertise successfully online while reducing the costs: Adbot is using the majority of its marketing budget to help businesses get online for less.

This initiative will look to reduce the costs of online marketing for Pre-Seed and Seed start-ups, allowing them to put those funds towards the areas of their business that need it most.

Instead of advertising their own business online, Adbot is giving the funding to their customers to allow them to advertise online and gain access to new markets, explains Michelle Geere, CEO of Adbot, the leading provider of simple, successful, and supportive online advertising solutions for owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa.

Adbot helps start-up founders advertise on Google Ads successfully. Instead of trying to navigate the complicated interface of Google or spending limited funds on hiring an expert, Adbot steps in with a solution that gives founders access to new markets. By harnessing artificial intelligence and machine learning, Adbot optimises keywords, ad copy and bidding 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Start-ups have the opportunity to drive South Africa’s economic growth, but they need support to grow. By starting this initiative, we hope they will be able to free up funds to focus on scaling in a way that creates high economic value and job opportunities. This is essential in our current economic climate, marked by high unemployment rates and slow economic growth,” said Geere.

The initiative will focus on Pre-Seed and Seed start-ups in this round of business support, as these enterprises and entrepreneurs hold the power to change the country’s economic situation. Adbot will financially support them in their first month and will offer them Google educational access and personal support after that.

The support will also provide these entrepreneurs upskilled in online marketing, with access to Primer, Google online training, and an opportunity to apply for Google Hustle Academy.

“We will demystify online marketing. We have a strong human support team who will help them monthly work through their statistics and how to translate them. Adbot is experienced in supporting small businesses in accessing new markets through online advertising. This initiative will allow us to give back to those small businesses in a way that will help them grow,” says Geere.

For more information, go to https://adbot.co.za.

If you’re a Pre-seed or Seed startup looking to take part in this initiative, contact hello@adbot.co.za to find out how.

PROMO ALERT: Adbot has just announced that they are sponsoring 100 entrepreneurs with access to free Google Ads to the value of R1000. This campaign will go live from Friday, 29 April 2022. To find out more, go to https://promo.adbot.co.za/free1000/.

About Adbot

Adbot helps startup founders advertise on Google Ads successfully. We understand that as a Startup, you don’t have the time to figure out how the complicated interface of Google works, nor do you have the funds to pay someone to do it for you. That is where Adbot comes in. By harnessing artificial intelligence and machine learning, Adbot optimises keywords, ad copy and bidding 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Adbot not only gives Startup founders access to new markets, it also gives them freedom – financially, in terms of their time and to growth.

[1]https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/262327/how-many-jobs-are-created-by-small-businesses-in-south-africa/#:~:text=Analysis%20done%20on%20job%20figures,created%20by%20fast%20growing%20businesses

[2]https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/socialcapital-annual-letters/Social+Capital+Interim+Annual+Letter,+2018.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1kMNiezdbiajZtgk4t_JeWyBjG99E6NFcHfh0OLQpP4e6_ZUFNuDrjcak