Provision of Mobile Value-Added Services – Faith (Religious USSD App)

Overview

Innovura partnered with Shankly Technologies to develop and deploy a religious USSD application for Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, the country’s largest telecommunications provider. This mobile value-added service (VAS) aimed to offer spiritual content through an interactive USSD menu while integrating seamless billing solutions via Econet’s SDP airtime/credit system and Ecocash wallet. The project ensured compliance with POTRAZ regulations and provided robust subscriber management tools.

Company: Econet Wireless Zimbabwe
Industry: Telecommunications & Value-Added Services
Services: IT Consulting, Cloud Services, USSD Application Development, Cyber Security & Compliance
Location: Harare, Zimbabwe

Challenge

1. Complex USSD Menu Requirements: Needed multiple levels of navigation with diverse content options such as sermons, Bible readings, prayers, and hymns.
2. Billing System Integration: Required compatibility with Econet’s SDP airtime billing and Ecocash wallet for daily, weekly, and monthly subscription plans.
3. Regulatory Compliance: Had to adhere to POTRAZ guidelines for user consent, deactivation processes, and transparent billing practices.
4. Technical Deployment Challenges: Ensured secure server setup and reliable data storage for application snapshots and backups.

Solution

Innovura delivered a comprehensive solution addressing all requirements:

1. Interactive USSD Menu: Developed a multi-level USSD interface allowing users to select from various categories of religious content, including sermons, inspirational messages, and hymns.
2. Billing Integration: Implemented a flexible billing system supporting three subscription plans—daily, weekly, and monthly—via Econet’s SDP airtime/credit billing and Ecocash wallet integration.
3. Subscriber Management Portal: Created a web-based portal for Econet support agents to manage subscriptions, update pricing plans, add new content categories, and monitor usage metrics.
4. Deactivation Option: Added functionality for subscribers to easily deactivate their accounts and stop being billed, ensuring full compliance with POTRAZ regulations.
5. Secure Deployment: Set up a secure AWS infrastructure featuring a VPN tunnel, EC2 instances, Amazon VPC, and Simple Storage Service (S3) for app snapshot backups. Installed Ubuntu OS, configured Java dependencies, and deployed a MySQL database for efficient data management.
6. Training & Support: Trained Econet support agents on using the subscriber management portal and provided ongoing technical support for maintenance, updates, and enhancements.

Results

1. Successful Deployment : The Faith USSD application was launched successfully, providing valuable religious content to Econet subscribers across Zimbabwe.
2. Revenue Generation : Generated consistent revenue streams for Econet through subscription-based billing models.
3. High User Adoption : Subscribers embraced the service, appreciating its ease of use, diverse content offerings, and transparent billing practices.
4. Compliance Assurance : Fully met POTRAZ regulatory requirements, ensuring trust and satisfaction among users.

Technologies

1. Cloud Infrastructure: AWS EC2, VPN, S3 Storage, Multi-AZ Deployment.
2. Language: Java, HTML, JS and CSS.
3. Payment Gateway: EcoCash and SDP API integration.
4. Telecom Protocols: SMPP for SMS, Asterisk for IVR.
5. Monitoring: Zoho analytics for real-time performance tracking dashboards.