Many people are often lost when it comes to investing in stock with the concept being too intense and difficult to understand. A Kenyan game is seeking to simplify it for them with its new online game Hisa Play . HumanIPO caught up with its CEO Jamlick Maina to shed more light on this.
HumanIPO: Overview of the game, how it works and so on.
Maina: The Hisa Play app seeks to meet that need by deepening the players’ understanding of how to invest, why, when to invest and in which stocks one should invest, to see a profitable return on investment. The App is a virtual stock simulation game that mirrors the intense trading activities at the NSE and other securities market around the world. It runs on numerous android platforms and can be played either individually or as a group.
All a person need to do is todownload an application from thewebsite or goggle play, then signup. After that you will find severaloptions such as; help to learn thegame, tutorials, NSE and listedcompanies trend and an activitydashboard that monitors howactive you are. User can trade with real time NSE shares or during when market close use virtual companies to still learn trading. Then one maybe rewarded with points that arecalled income that can be used to trade in or save , this helps users to be active in the game as the less participatory one is the less one earns.
We also let you compete with everyone or group of friends and get rewarded for that.
Who is your target for the stock market simulation game?
Our primary market are youths between the age of 16 to 35 years of age because they have no exposure how the stock exchange works,two they have a disposable income with offering at the NSE is cheap to invest ,they have access to android phone as its estimated that they are currently 4.5 million smartphones in Kenya and the biggest owners are young people
Why did you feel to come up with the game?
Some time back I wanted to invest some money I had but I did not wish to run business nor put it in a bank. Someone recommended investing in the stock market and it was the hardest thing to do because the information was complex and you are not sure if the investment is the safest.
Later I was able to invest after a lot of hardship and it hit me that I was not the only one going through the same struggle. We have Kenyan who are quick to invest in IPOs but it is based on hype and they have no understanding of the market. The game aim is teaching platform that offers experience and confidence to the ordinary mwananchi
How much will it cost a person to play the game?
To download the application is free we only charge for purchase of system generated currency.
The user pays through Mpesa using the inbuilt platform in the game and in return he/she is given ratio equivalent value to the money put in. Our current ratio is 1:1000 that is if you put in a minimum of a hundred Kenyan shilling you will get 100,000 virtual currency to play with.
How do you get the game? Where can you download it?
The game can be downloaded through our site and on google play but currently testing it to selected members for debugging and debugging
When did you launch it?
The alpha version was launched on early this September to selected 20 users , before first open launch in October
How hard was it starting out?
We started the project last year as a web platform but it didn’t gather any momentum especially I didn’t have finance nor experience running a business. Getting user was also difficult. Coming to Nailab really help because the training was what was required to be able to handle such a project
Is it on both mobile and internet platforms?
Our strategy is to roll out on android platform for the first 9 months before opening to web version
Once you have had a considering following are you planning to branch out to other countries?
We want to start with Kenya before proceeding to the East African community especially Uganda. This is due to a MOU between Kenya and Uganda where listed companies in the security exchange market have duality listings.
How else will you raise revenues?
Other methods of generating revenue are through In App advertisement and partnership with finance institution e.gh banks and stock brokers who want to target players in the games.
We are considering giving to investors who are willing to support us both financially and guidance
Are you looking to work with partners such as the government or financial institutions?
We would love to work with the Capital Market Authority and NSE as they plan to teach students especially in primary school about trading. We feel that the game is simple enough to be understood by children as low as 10 years.
How big is your team?
We have currently have three members, that’s me JamlickMaina C.E.O I handle game development , Charles Njihia mobile developer who handles the mobile coding and Vivian Maina the Business manager who handle the business side and coordination.
Recently you were given Ksh 1 million, how are you planning to use it to better your business?
We are very thankful to the Nailab and its partners for believing in us and willing to put in the one million shilling investment. We plan to use the money for the roll out phase of the project especially in marketing, product support and the company expenditure
