Keeping up through e-ticketing

We are living in an epoch where technology is a necessity. As such, in this era, almost everyone is bound to be a tech savvy. Almost everything in life is taking that route or turning digital from the long winding road of analogue.

In countries such as South Africa, there are websites—Computicket and Ticketpro—dedicated to selling of tickets for almost all live events.

In other parts of the world there have Viagogo where people buy or sell tickets.

And now, the wind of change continues to blow across Malawi as the country now has a second website dedicated to selling of tickets for local events.

Nyasa Tickets is an e-ticketing platform which will sell tickets for companies and events in the arts, culture, sports, entertainment, hotel, tourism and travel industries.

It is essentially a virtual ticketing outlet that allows users to easily purchase tickets, according to the brains behind the technology.

“Being an online based system; location and time is not a factor. Tickets are purchased off the site using Airtel Money and Master/Visa Cards for payment. Users can search specifically for a type of ticket they want, or they may browse the site just to see what’s happening, what’s new and keep up with events, hotels and tourism.

“The site allows producers to submit events tickets to be available on the site and allow retail stores to apply to be outlets. Users may create personal accounts that allow them to receive newsletters, allow them to track past transactions and see what they have saved to their calendars,” Celina Nayagam, Nyasa Tickets marketing and product manager.

In some of the online ticketing service access to information and ease of purchasing a ticket has been a major problem. Especially for those not in the area, maybe have missed an advert or a deadline.

“We found a problem and filled in a gap. By eliminating location, time and unawareness as factors, we allow consumers to buy tickets; in the case of emergencies, at any hour, from any location and also allow consumers to purchase when they did not even know about it making them aware of an event or business. Simple everyday variables that we have all faced have given us an opportunity to create a solution,” she said.

Despite Nyasa Tickets literally operating as a third party, in cases of eventualities like an event being cancelled, refunds are liable for user purchasers.

“We are having a virtual outlet and a few physical outlets between Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mangochi and Mzuzu. Each ticket purchased is recorded in our database no matter which location the ticket is bought. Users receive tickets via mail or are made downloadable via the device they are using. As such, we will use the same database to identify purchasers in case of refunds emanating from inconveniences beyond them,” she said.

The country has been tainted with promises of shows whose international headliners fail to show up or the event is cancelled altogether. Some people have lost their money in the process.

According to Nayagam, Nyasa Tickets is a result of a will to pioneer Malawians into e-commerce and open up opportunities for online entrepreneurship.

“This platform is also a means to human development in our economy. This expands reach of services not only around the nation, but around the world. With information from businesses, reviews from attendees and access to what is going on, we allow the world into Malawi with reliable information,” she explained.

She believes online ticketing is one of the necessities of event management in developed countries, as such, the future is bright for this kind of venture in Malawi.

Said Nayagam: “It will take us a lot to prove to Malawi they can trust us, and we are up for the challenge. However, we have to look at the bigger picture, we have many Malawians and people interested in Malawi who are abroad and do not have access to these outlets.

“This serves a chance to help boost in our tourism and travel sectors. We assist people abroad plan in advance with confidence, not have them coming on holiday on a limb that ‘hopefully’ they will get; accommodation, a ticket to the event, travel among others.”

According to her, Nyasa Tickets does not charge the purchaser “but take commission from face value of the ticket, which lays as a cost of the producer.”

She also cast away fears of unscrupulous people possibly infiltrating the system.

“Our system records every transaction or process made on our site, or any system connected to our network backdoor, whether it is visual to the user or not. We will be aware of any discrepancies, errors or false transactions before the user is. We make sure we communicate with you before you serve a complaint to us,” she said. .

Currently, Nyasa Tickets is in negotiations with a few physical locations that will distribute tickets as the company’s outlets.

In December 2014, Ticket Store, better known as Ticsto, was established in Malawi to provide a secure online ticket marketplace that allows consumers the expediency of buying tickets.

This was aimed at bringing an end to long distance travels and queuing which is common in Malawi when people want to acquire tickets for events, buses and cinemas. n