Mavin, Inc., a Valley and Gurgaon based startup founded by Indian entrepreneurs, has launched India’s first data sponsoring platform, Gigato.
Led by former Google and Microsoft engineers, Gigato aims at giving app publishers a platform which allows consumers to use their favorite apps without having to worry about data charges. Similar to the concept of cashback, users can now benefit from the various data promotions offered, while app publishers reward consumers for engagement by giving data back. Publishers also have the option of providing accelerated data promotions and rewarding loyal users with free data. Consumers have the option of signing up for new promotions and installing new apps for more data rewards.
The app supports pre-paid users on all mobile operators in India. The application is free of charge and compatible on Android 4.1 and above.
Commenting on the launch, CEO of Mavin, Shailesh Nalawadi said, “There are around 117 million smartphone users in India currently making it the third largest smartphone base in the world. At any given time most of those phones have data turned off. This makes it hard for apps to grow and engagement becomes sporadic. Keeping this in mind we have worked very hard to create a product that solves a problem for app publishers who want to increase engagement, and consumers who have to pay high prices for mobile data. Our goal is to create a mobile internet for consumers where they no longer have to ration data, and can experience their favorite apps wherever and whenever they want.”
While India has a high smartphone penetration rate, consumer behavior shows that the average Indian pre-paid user is typically disconnected from the internet while commuting, shopping, or doing any recreational activity outside of a Wi-Fi enabled area.
Gigato will enable such users to stay connected to the internet even while on the move –  on the bus, riding a metro or even shopping at their favorite mall – without having to bear the data costs. Essentially consumers will no longer need to wait to be in a Wi-Fi enabled zone to use the internet and potentially never have to pay for a recharge again.
“We are working to reduce a pain point for consumers and our vision is that end users never have to top up again. App publishers benefit from a never before seen model of interacting with users by giving data back. Data is essential and expensive. We want to provide a market driven means to making mobile data more affordable.” said Raina Kumra, Co-Founder and CMO, Mavin on the occasion of Gigato’s launch.
Gigato is currently open to all app publishers that are live in India and welcomes any app, large or small to the platform.
“An average user spends more than 55 minutes a day on TrulyMadly. Since a large percentage of our users are in 18-24 age group are sensitive about their data spends, partnership with Gigato will help us in offering a seamless experience to these users.”
— Hitesh Dhingra, Co-Founder at TrulyMadly.
“Gigato is a great platform for app publishers. It removes the perception of any data-related cost barrier and allows us to compete with the most popular apps, like Facebook and Whatsapp, at very little cost. Not only does Gigato reactivate dormant users and leads to growth, it helps retain users by rewarding their activity with free data.” — Aristotle Socrates, Data Scientist and Growth PM at Voxer.
According to global information and measurement company Nielsen, 84% of all smartphone owners in India have prepaid connections. Gigato helps encourage a shift in user behaviour to keep data turned on throughout the day.
Key Features of Gigato
For Consumers
  •      Users receive mobile data for using apps as they normally would
  •      Absolutely free and unrestricted data to use, can be used on any app
  •      Less than 4MB to download
  •      Once signed in no need to open Gigato to access the Data Earning Power
For App Publishers
  •       Increase Organic Engagement and Time on App
  •       Convert Users to Loyal Users with 7 Day Actives
  •       Low Cost Per Engagement
  •       Low Cost Per Install
  •       Enhanced Metrics on Data Usage
About GigatoGigato is a mobile application focused on bringing down the cost of data in emerging markets starting with India by allowing app developers to sponsor the data for their end users by giving databack.  http://www.gigato.co/

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