Ex-investment banker Dominic Essien is set to launch another groundbreaking global platform that will showcase African talents across all sports to the world, beginning with Nigeria.
His new venture, FONISO, is an exclusive interactive app that will provide a robust engagement with sports business and a better way to monetize sports and reward legends.
Foniso is positioned as the Facebook or Instagram of the sports industry, where one can generate content, according to Essien. Clubs can use it to showcase their activities and play while talents showcase theirs. The application offers a veritable fishing pool to scouts.
Essien is hoping that FONISO will be a big player in the global sports market which is estimated to reach US$826 billion by 2030 and grow at a CAGR of 10.61% between 2022 and 2028 according to Allied Market research, 2023.
The industry growth is driven by growing interest in various sports and leagues, increased investment in sporting events infrastructure and technology, and rising adoption of digital platforms for sports consumption and engagement. Over 2.8 billion people globally engage in sports-related content online, with no dedicated platform for deep interaction (Statista, 2023).
Also, approximately 78% of athletes want a more direct and meaningful connection with their fanbase (athlete insight survey, 2022). The audience metrics makes it even more exciting. An estimated 1.5 billion active sports enthusiasts exist worldwide according to Nielsen Sports, 2022. Over 50,000 professional athletes globally (International Olympic Committee, 2022). Over 500,000 sports clubs and organisations globally (global Associations of International Sports Federations, 2022).
“So, it becomes extremely important to reposition this critical industry,” said Essien explaining the tech solutions support that FONISO offers the different publics in the sports industry; athletes, managers, club owners, sportswear/equipment manufacturers and fans.
The bargain includes livescores, polls, news, chats, video, community buzz, marketplace and exclusive content.
As a global brand, Foniso is live in many sporting countries. The FONISO Founder who has an enviable reputation as the pioneer digital advertising of Nigeria-based brands on the global internet portal when his firm acted as the exclusive online advertising representative for Yahoo Inc in sub-Saharan Africa, said the platform is positioned to work ethically and responsibly in the various markets it will operate in.
With a background in Financial Economics, his company, TVIO Solutions is constantly analysing markets and economic situations with the view to proffering solutions where necessary. Through a meticulous review of social media, the company was inspired to export a critical niche market into a platform of its own. This heralded the birth of FONISO.
FONISO is poised to adopt technology to meet challenges through the engagement of quality skilled staff across different segments.
Dominic Essien
Essien is optimistic that funding will not be a challenge to his business because investors are increasingly becoming very discerning and know where to put their hard earned income. More importantly, he expressed confidence that the product will meet and surpass the expectations of many users globally.
Addressing concerns about security and vulnerability of the platform, the CTO of the company, Taiwo Ajayi, laid out a multiple approach to ensure that all user data, especially sensitive information, is encrypted both in transit and at rest.
FONISO will implement a robust authentication mechanisms, such as user verification and multi-factor authentication (MFA), to add an extra layer of security for user accounts. There will be frequent security audits and penetration testing to identify and address vulnerabilities in the system.
Other measures fashioned to stay ahead of potential security threats include a reliable data backup and recovery system, clearly communicated privacy policies to users, detailing how their data is collected, used, and protected and implementation of real-time monitoring and intrusion detection systems to promptly identify and respond to any suspicious activities or unauthorized access among others.
