Snapplify plans global expansion with a shimmy into New York

Things are going well with Snapplify it seems: the app maker favoured by South African publishers is setting its sights on world domination with a global expansion plan.

Last month, the mobile digital publishing solutions provider announced a global partnership with SPi Global, a global digital and epublishing service provider to content owners and publishers, to help expand its footprint.

Since launching in 2011 the company has enjoyed some major successes in with multiple partners in Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, the US and UK.

To help fast track its growth, the company has opened up a New York office to help manage the growing number of business it gets from the West. The platform claims to house more than 200 apps for publishers across the world and has seen more than 300 000 app downloads (interestingly this means on average Snapplify apps are downloaded 1 500 times).

“Publishers now have access to a global market,” says Wesley Lynch, founder of Snapplify. “These markets were previously inaccessible to them and, by using Snapplify, African publishers with local newspapers and magazines can sell their content to millions of users all over the world.”

According to the company, it removes one of the “biggest problems publishers face”: warehousing and logistics. The company argues that distributing via mobile allows local African content to reach all corners of the globe.

“Content is not only being downloaded throughout Africa but also being purchased in USA, UK, Australia, India, China, Canada and even countries such as Serbia, Belarus and Azerbaijan,” says Snapplify.

Snapplify currently works with well-known brands such as Random House, Rolling Stone, Ramsay Media, Popular Mechanics and First National Bank (FNB).

“Our solution is robust and scalable, publishers all over the world have shown interest in Snapplify, so we have to have a presence in as many countries as possible,” says Lynch.

The company hasn’t quite clarified if its New York offices will be an operations base or a services arm.