Ayo Alonge, [email protected]
Harping on the need for government to support startups driven by blockchain technology, the Chief Executive Officer of Beep Magnet Group, Gilead Okolonkwo, equally explains the nitty-gritty of the BMToken which just got enlisted on the Coin Market Cap.
In this interview, he speaks on the use cases which include products like Sisibox, Beep Agro and Beep Estate.
Background
Our token is utility and not security-based and that is why all you need do is buy our products and earn the token as a loyalty. You can then choose to use the tokens and convert into fiat. You can use it in any of our ecosystem. We are starting a laundry mart and also a game application. You can also give out the tokens as a gift. We have products that drive the token like the Sisibox sanitary pads. Think about the community of women who do their monthly menstruation. We also have the soup mix — ready to cook and ready to eat. The difference between both is that one can be ready faster than the other. In 15 minutes, your soup is ready. When you buy the soup mix, you can take advantage of earning the token. We have opportunities for business consultants and stockists. The people who can earn from us are the ones who are either consultants or stockists.
We will also be launching our drinks and that seeks to cut down on carbonated drinks because of health hazards. People have been taking these things without being rewarded. We are of the view that people can be rewarded when they consume their usual products. The third product that drives our token is the real estate business called Beep Estates. From the research we carried out, there are about 20 million housing deficit in Nigeria and we are looking at Beep Estate to leverage on that. We want to say that it is possible within 12 months to own your own house. Do you have friends that are ready to have their own homes and ready to live in same neighbourhood with you? You need just 10 of them to get started. If you follow our model, you can make that happen. You subscribe to what is called mutual cooperative financing. Because this particular project supports our token, you can trade your token in the market and make your money. You get incentivized in cash and token when the 10 people subscribe. When the 10 reach out, you also earn. Then it finally advances you to having your own home. It is not just about owning apartments in Nigeria, you can own outside Nigeria and have dual citizenship too.
Our target is that, by 2021, we want to be able to say that we have been able to make 1,000 people own their own homes and, of course, it is risk-free. You have nothing to lose. It is like a savings plan that you have started. Even if it takes you longer years, many have been saving for years just to have a home of their own.
Local production
Our Beep Agro is locally produced. They are produced under very hygienic conditions. The very first interesting thing is that it is approved by NAFDAC. The second is that there are no preservatives. It produced locally and you see, it seeks to employ people in the process. We are looking at having our own farms across Africa so we can grow our foreign reserves. People outside Nigeria but want to have a feel of the products can also get them seamlessly because this is not only meant for the Nigerian market. Soon, we will begin to export to other parts of the world.
Brand
There are other utility tokens but they usually have problems associated with them in terms of the products that drive them. We are talking about agro-products which are everyday products. To look at how far the BMToken will go, look at the rate at which girls are being born. Statistics shows that out of 10 babies born, seven are girls. The more these people know about the benefits of the products, the bigger we get. When bitcoin came up, N2,000 could afford you 50 of it. What makes our token unique is because we have introduced the agro products. If we have 100,000 distributors, that means we have pushed out 200,000 packs because they get two packs each as welcome pack. When you do the maths very well as to what is realisable, you know it’s huge. The products are consumed and that means people order more regularly. Whatever order you make on our system, the system tracks it and you get incentives for them. For now, we have stockists in Lagos, Anambra, Gombe and Adamawa.
Challenges
The possible challenge is the ability for us to be able to break it down for the common man to understand. Anyways, it is not linked to Nigerians alone. There are prospects everywhere on the streets, so long as people need food to survive. Another likely challenge is the production capacity to meet the growing demand. Food is something you can’t say no to and that is an edge we have. I am not seeing an immediate challenge other than these ones.
Profitability
If you compare the price of our products to the quality you get in the market, you will agree that we have been able to factor in affordability. Apart from the immediate profit, there is the value you get in token value which can also be converted into monetary terms. The products have tokens value associated with them. Whenever I attempt to make people order by themselves through me, I get paid and also get incentives. The total tokens up for grabs in circulation is 30million and that is meant to be released periodically. The very best thing that can happen to anybody is to subscribe to the products and services and begin to earn tokens.
Future prospects
Before the end of 2021, BMToken would have become a household name. We want as many beneficiaries to have come up. We are looking at creating as many ways people can spend the token. That would create more awareness and demand for the tokens. The market determines the value. We are looking at these products to be well known by 2021. Also, we are kickstarting a recruitment company called HarnessMLM. It would have been fully operational by then. The task of the startup will be to recruit for people in multilevel marketing and affiliate marketing. You pay for their services and they do the prospecting for you. We want to create an opportunity for 200 global founders. They also share profit with the company.
Ease of doing business
For the part of the government, we are not saying no to regulation because that makes the system more credible and pushes our scammers who don’t mean well for the business community. Beyond regulation, government creates the enabling environment for business to thrive. The value of the naira to a dollar is so unfriendly and that is why decentralised assets is what people are now into. Government should support startups that understand how blockchain technology works.
The government should also supports us in creating more awareness. We also need more blockchain companies to spring up.