into lasting communities
Selling tickets online for events in Kenya isn’t always easy. Many event organisers prefer direct sales. Fraud is a common problem, and most ticketing platforms offer little more than processing payments. GiG, a ticketing platform for events launched in 2018, was designed to address these issues.
“We started David Reed, CEO and co-founder of GiG, said that they created GiG when they realized that many ticketing solutions only provided tickets, leaving event organizers to manage the rest of their attendees. “We built GiG in order to solve this problem by helping event planners build communities, instead of starting the journey with the ticket purchase.
The platform allows organisers and attendees to build communities around events. Instead of treating ticket purchases as a single transaction, organizers engage attendees before and after an event. Reed said that “our focus is primarily on event organizers who want to build a network of their attendees.”
Competition with rivals
Kenya has already ticketing platforms such as TicketSasa or Eventbrite on the market. What makes GiG unique? Reed said, “Unlike other ticketing platforms we focus on using data collected and volunteered from attendees to build interest based profiles for them, and link them with other similar events and like-minded individuals. This makes events a social experience.”
GiG uses algorithms to predict what future events attendees will be interested in based on the data collected from attendees. This allows event organizers to send tailored invitations based upon individual preferences and past behavior.
Organisers can list not only concerts but also free events, corporate gatherings, and conferences.
While other ticketing platforms such as Eventbrite offer ticketing services for entertainment and corporate events alike, their focus rarely extends beyond registration and basic promotional efforts. GiG claims that it is structured differently because it combines ticket sales, advanced audience engagement tools and fraud prevention measures with post-event analysis.
Attendees are able to interact via chat forums, photo sharing and live streams. Each event comes with a mobile app that allows organisers and attendees to interact, gather feedback, and view attendee information. The goal is to make an event more than a one-off.
Dayvee Murebu used GiG to organise two game nights with Kenyan tech magazine Techweez. She told TechCabal that they offer options for additional communication with guests, such as surveys and text messages after the event. How GiG makes its money
Reed admitted to TechCabal the revenue fluctuates throughout the year. Some months are busy with events while others are quiet.
GiG offers a range of packages, from a basic free tier that includes ticketing (the platform charges 6% for ticket sales), SMS, and check-ins to paid plans beginning at KES 8,700 ($67). The higher tiers include email and social media tools as well as analytics, custom event applications, badge printing and on-site assistance. Enterprise plans (starting at KES 27,000, or $208) offer full white labelling as well as extended technical support.
GiG, unlike other ticketing platforms, which rely solely upon transaction fees, allows organisers to use its tools for communication and audience-management between events, though it is not available in the free basic tier.
This platform allows organisers to access all ticketing data and attendee information, and provides tools to segment users according to past attendance and stated interest.
Reed says that a background algorithm compares transactions to event-specific thresholds in order to detect unusual purchase patterns. These thresholds are adjustable upon request and define the acceptable ticket quantities for each buyer.
This system uses real-time APIs to process M-PESA transactions and card transactions. Funds are instantly accessed and reconciled. Refunds are processed through the dashboard of the organizer once an event has been marked as cancelled. Logs are kept for tracability.
Preventing scalping and ticket fraud
Kenya has seen several high-profile cases of ticket fraud, including the recent Kenya against Gabon football match where tickets were hoarded, resold and at inflated prices. A similar problem occurs during the holidays when demand for Madaraka Express between Nairobi and Mombasa rises, causing scarcity. Some people buy tickets at a discount and resell them to travellers who missed out on the official sale. This is possible because there are no strict restrictions on resale.
GiG uses a data-driven method to monitor transactions. Specific mechanisms are in place to detect fraud based on the user’s behaviour and purchase patterns. Reed says that the system can block or limit ticket access if it detects patterns of purchasing that are common to ticket fraud.
The platform flags suspicious transactions with each event having preset numbers of purchases that are below the safe threshold. Reed explained that the event organizer can also adjust this on request.
Some ticketing systems hold customer funds until the event is over, which can lead disputes. GiG uses real time reconciliation to process transactions to allow immediate fund access, and to reduce disputes. This reduces disputes. We can resolve any issues quickly if we have a log.
The platform does not only accept M-PESA payments, but also card payments.
Plans for growth and funding
The majority of GiG’s expansion has been driven through referrals and word-of mouth, with customer acquisition cost kept low at $5 each. The platform claims to have handled over 500 events and sold over 80,000 ticket, processing over $200,000 of revenue. The majority of the revenue comes from corporate clients.
Initially, the company was self-funded but is now looking to raise external funding in order to expand.
Kenya’s ticketing fraud is still a problem, and many organizers want better tools to retain audiences. GiG believes modern event ticketing is more than just ticket sales. It requires tools for ongoing engagement with the audience and post-event analyses.
