Get to know your local community and invest in its local talent

Get to know your local community and invest in its local talent – said Arthur Perry

 

The CEO of one of the fastest growing online sports betting companies, 10 bet Africa, shared his thoughts and how the company hit the African market with its localization and penetration strategy with years of research in R&D and local partnership.

 

Adeleye Awakan: Can you tell the readers your background, how you became the CEO of 10 bet Africa and the company background in Europe?

Arthur Perry: I’ve been part of the gambling industry for 10 years and have been working for 10bet for over eight. I’ve been part of the company’s growth strategy for some time and worked on market activation and player acquisition strategies that were integral to the business’s success. I built valuable industry partnerships and acquired extensive global know-how on ‘go-to-market’ strategies through the years. Becoming 10bet’s CEO for Africa is a great responsibility – it’s an interesting but challenging market. However, we see a lot of opportunity on the continent, and I welcome this challenge with excitement and confidence in our success. We have accumulated massive know-how on entering new markets, and, of course, I depend hugely on the support of my local and global teams.

Since 10bet’s early days, Europe has been the backbone of our business and operations and has strategic importance for us in terms of development for the future and serves as a testament to our abilities. It took 20 years, but we’ve developed into an operation with some of the best know-how in the industry. Today we’re more than comfortable expanding rapidly and efficiently in various global markets.

Adeleye Awakan: How has been the journey so far for 10bet Africa since its first launch in the region?

Arthur Perry: It’s a bit early to say as we launched in Tanzania, Ghana, DRC and Zambia towards the end of 2021, but we’re confident in our approach, and we continue developing our strategies in these markets as well as preparing to launch into new ones. Ask me about that in a year, and I’ll be able to give you the stats!

We continue our roll-out plan in multiple African countries where bettors can now enjoy one of the world’s most advanced sportsbooks via mobile, USSD and SMS. Even though we’re a leading sportsbook brand, we’re keen on providing players with a full 360-degree product across multiple verticals, so we’re working not only on our Pan-African expansion but also on bringing even more exciting and extensive gameplay options to our valued bettors.

Adeleye Awakan: We have been some negative opinions, especially from foreign sports betting companies investing in Africa how challenging it might be to get the right local partner, the bottlenecks of being issued a license to operate and understanding each market, taxes etc. How has 10bet Africa been able to navigate through some of these challenges?

Arthur Perry: We’re intimately familiar with the challenges of the market, and we spent years developing our penetration strategy. We’ve invested a lot in R&D to expand our product and offering across the different markets and built robust local partnerships; for example, we sponsor six African football teams: Dodoma Jiji FC (Tanzania), Talanta FC (Kenya); Red Arrows (Zambia), Aduana Stars (Ghana); Enyimba (Nigeria) and Daring Club Motema Pembe (DR Congo). However, one of the most important aspects is that we invest in and listen to local talent. We know how vital localisation is to commercial growth, and this is one of the key aspects we’re focusing on. Embracing diversity has also always been one of our core values, and we empower that across our teams to drive the business forward. That’s why we have local hubs in almost every country we operate in – we recruit, grow and develop local talent, trusting them to elevate the business to new heights.

We’ve learned that excellent people and high-end tech are all you need. We’re pioneers in developing our own tools. For decades we have created, analyzed and improved our models and technology, always staying ahead of the curve. We have proprietary business, strategy, trading, acquisition and retention models. We’re indebted to our army of nerds (as we affectionately call them!) who make sure it’s complex in the back but simple in the front, allowing us to deliver one of the most user-friendly betting experiences all over the world.

Adeleye Awakan: In two years, 10bet is already in more than one market; we know it could be challenging to achieve this market expansion?

Arthur Perry: The bottom line is that we speak fluent “Bettorish”. We’re sports fans speaking to sports fans; we get bettors, and having millions of active players worldwide proves they get us too. We don’t claim to be the oldest betting company globally or the biggest, but we’re probably one of the smartest. We always keep the bettor’s experience at the core of our decision-making, ensuring that we tailor our offering and product to every territory to ensure that 10bet will become a preferred choice. We constantly improve, adjust and learn from the market’s trends.

Adeleye Awakan: In your last quote, you said 10 bet Africa’s mission is to be in multiple territories. Can you give us a clue which countries and how many markets have been earmarked as the target for the company?

Arthur Perry: I’m not able to disclose too much about our global strategy, but we’re thinking big and moving fast, so you will learn of our subsequent market launches quite soon. What I can say is that we’re planning on becoming a genuinely Pan-African brand, and we’ll launch in several other countries this year and continue with our expansion moving forward. For the brand’s global expansion, we’re also planning on entering another continent later this year.

Adeleye Awakan: Since the company’s launch in Africa two years ago, we have seen that the company’s approach in the territory is strictly online. Are there any future plans for any form of a retail operation because we have seen brands with online backgrounds adopting a hybrid operation model in recent years?

Arthur Perry: our business has focused exclusively on online betting, and in our short-term plans, we’re not going to change this strategy. However, we don’t exclude any option from our future development, but it’s not something we’re working towards at the moment.

Adeleye Awakan: Is there any CSR program as part of your plans for each market you currently operate?

Arthur Perry: Absolutely, yes. As responsible corporate citizens, our vision for CSR is to reach, uplift and create a lasting impact in the communities within which we operate. Our strategic CSR focus is on sports verticals, education [in sports], and infrastructure [in sports]. Our local teams are currently identifying the specific needs we can contribute to in each market, and very soon, I’ll be able to share more details on these specific initiatives.

Adeleye Awakan: Finally, what has been your experience so far in the industry, and how can you sum up the continent and advice you can give investors, entrepreneurs, and foreign betting companies out there about the region?

Arthur Perry: Hey, is this a trick question? Of course, we don’t want to invite more competitors! Jokes aside, Africa is a huge opportunity, but it’s also a considerable challenge (as you said yourself), so you will struggle without doing your homework properly. And yes, we have the global know-how and technology, but we know that our employees drive us forward. So, my advice would be to get to know your local community and invest in it and its local talent, as there are many great, motivated and gifted people that can help you grow your business.