How Nigerian reward startup, Lumi is helping businesses reward their customers

One of the ways through which technology constantly revolutionizes how we live is how businesses market to new customers. With more choices in the hands of consumers, businesses have found it necessary to provide quality services, advertise well, and expand their reach.

Discounts and cashback are incentives/rewards for consumers to buy or use certain products and services. Unlike discounts that offer consumers a reduction in the price of products or services, cashback involves paying back a certain percentage of the product’s cost to the customer.

According to a Dosh study conducted by The Center for Generational Kinetics, cashback offer to customers will lead to increased consumer spending.

Lumi, a Nigerian startup has positioned itself as the Rewards app of choice for Nigeria’s youthful population. With Lumi, businesses have a platform that helps connect them directly to an audience that craves “instant gratification”.

How Lumi works

Lumi was founded in 2020 by Wale Adeniji who currently serves as its CEO. It was launched in Lagos in December 2020. Wale is an engineer by education who built his career in advanced analytics and machine learning in Toronto, Canada.

The CEO built Lumi on the notion that Africa’s millennial and Gen Z populations, now coming into their own, are the target market for most new businesses and even established companies.

Companies partner with Lumi to serve products and services directly to this engaged audience or to glean insights from this audience via consumer research. The consumer research includes but is not limited to concept testing, pain point validation, message/media testing, brand perception, awareness and satisfaction.

“Do the things you usually do on a daily basis through Lumi and gain value instantly”

Wale Adeniji, Lumi CEO

Lumi leverages advanced analytics and data science to match users with the products and services that they either love already or are most likely to. Lumi also educates users on consumer behaviour and financial savviness through its in-app blog.

Using this system, users can accumulate enough points that can be used to fund airtime or mobile data needs for the week.

Users on the platform earn points that they can redeem for cash, all at no cost. The speed at which you earn on Lumi depends only on how much you engage. According to the startup, rewards are funded through the revenue the startup generates from businesses that it partners/integrates with or performs consumer research for.

60,000 young people onboarded, 16% month-on-month growth

In less than 2 years since its launch, Lumi has recorded some measure of traction. Since its launch, 60,000 millennials and Gen-Zers have used it to earn rewards and cashback when they shop for necessities, pay for utilities or share their opinions and experiences via short surveys and a host of other e-commerce offerings.

The startup has also recorded a 16% month on month growth, thus establishing itself as the go-to place for rewards.

“with Lumi, we provide a robust rewards ecosystem that gives millennials and Gen Z what they want; instant gratification conveniently on a single platform and then we allow businesses to benefit from the engagement of this population on Lumi”.

Wale Adeniji

Lumi is ready to open its arms to even more users and business partners. The first step is in launching a mobile app. The web app has all the functionalities at the moment and is where all the users earn cashback, and points from taking polls.

The startup is also open to partnerships with businesses that will offer rewards to existing and new customers. They can also advertise their products and services to Lumi’s audience to generate new business and leads.

There is yet to be a single rewards platform with truly broad appeal in Nigeria. We’re on a mission to provide significant value to millions of consumers all across Nigeria.

Wale Adeniji

The CEO, Wale has also expressed his confidence in the startup’s audience and how it can benefit businesses.

“Having the ear of the most active consumer populations in Nigeria makes us well-positioned to help businesses reach them more effectively in ways that only we can.” the CEO said.