PR: Sproxil surpasses 50 million consumer engagement mark

Sproxil, a brand engagement specialist for emerging markets, has exceeded 50 million consumer engagements, providing tens of millions of loyal consumers with automatic protection from counterfeit products while securely receiving rewards. Sproxil uses mobile technology to combat counterfeiting and increase brand equity with innovative, consumer-focused product protection and targeted marketing solutions.

In the last year, Sproxil launched Sproxil Champion, a mobile loyalty program that offers consumers convenient, point-of-sale rewards and built-in fraud protection while helping brands set themselves apart from the competition. The tool, which helps consumers avoid knock-offs and make smarter, data-driven decisions, gained almost immediate traction, accelerating the company’s rate of transactions. Since its launch, Sproxil, with its brand partners, has distributed more than $2.5m in prizes—ranging from a few cents of prepaid cell phone credit to a Mercedes Benz—to loyal consumers who purchase authentic products.

"We have leveraged our success in the pharmaceutical industry to develop new offerings that appeal to all brands across a variety of industries, from clothing to automotive, selling packaged goods in emerging markets," said Sproxil founder and CEO Ashifi Gogo. "Our milestone validates the demand for new ways to engage with consumers directly on their mobile phone at the point of sale, while protecting them from counterfeit and diverted products. Sproxil Champion delivers precisely that."

Large multinational brands in the fast-moving consumer packaged goods industries face complex messaging constraints as they expand to emerging markets. While traditional barriers such as language and cultural differences exist, new threats of counterfeiting and negative brand impact are rapidly emerging as market expansion risks. Cross-border counterfeit and pirated product trade is projected to grow to $991bn in 2022 from $461bn in 2013.

Sproxil Champion's built-in anti-counterfeiting protection enables brands to gather critical crowdsourced supply chain intelligence while maintaining a covert anti-counterfeit program. "As a result of signing on to our Sproxil Champion program, multinational brands have grown sales, regained market share, rewarded tens of millions of their customers and collected opt-in consumer profile data that has driven their future marketing strategy," said Ashwin Dhumal, Sproxil's Regional Sales Director based in Mumbai, India.

"Sproxil has achieved impressive scale in a short period with service in more than eight countries, covering products ranging from life-saving antibiotics to fast-moving consumer products," said Justus Kilian of Acumen, one of Sproxil's key investors who helped get the Champion program off the ground. "Our investment in Sproxil has already yielded some of our largest impact numbers, and we look forward to future milestones and strong growth."

About Sproxil

Sproxil uses mobile technology and a proprietary fraud detection platform to launch secure, data-driven consumer engagement programs globally. Sproxil’s solutions are deployed by multinational manufacturers and brands across multiple industries to prevent supply chain fraud, amplify brand awareness, and optimize marketing spend. With teams of experts in Africa, Asia and America, Sproxil has executed projects across five continents and has the ability to offer services in over 100 countries worldwide. They have earned numerous awards and honors, including the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative Outstanding Commitment Award and named the most innovative healthcare company in the world by Fast Company Magazine, ranking #7 overall.

Sproxil is the only consumer loyalty and brand protection expert with both ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certification.

About Acumen

Acumen is changing the way the world tackles poverty by investing in companies, leaders and ideas. We invest patient capital in businesses whose products and services are enabling the poor to transform their lives. Founded by Jacqueline Novogratz in 2001, Acumen has invested more than $106m in 96 companies across Africa, Latin America, South Asia and the US. We are also developing a global community of emerging leaders with the knowledge, skills and determination to create a more inclusive world. In 2015, Acumen was named one of Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative Not-for-Profit Companies.