Trump Launches "Truth Social" to Rival Big Tech; NayaPay Cinches USD $13m Payment App

by Hannah Dillon on 24th Feb 2022 in News

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: Donald Trump launches "Truth Social" app to rival Big Tech; NayaPay secures largest seed funding in South Asia; and Booyah Advertising buy FiveFifty in launch of programmatic media division.

Trump launches social media app to rival Big Tech

Donald Trump has debuted “Truth Social”, a new social media app intended to rival Twitter and Facebook.

The app was developed by Trump Media & Technology, the media start-up Trump created last year to combat what the former president described as the ‘tyranny’ of Big Tech companies. Launched on Monday (21st February), Truth Social quickly topped mobile downloads in Apple’s App Store in the US, but also produced error messages and technical glitches once downloaded.

Truth Social, which operates similarly to Twitter, runs on free, open-source software known as Mastodon. In 2021, Mastodon threatened legal action against Truth Social for breaching their open-source licence by failing to credit their use of the software. Legal action was avoided when Trump Media & Technology added a link to Mastodon to the Truth Social website.

Trump frequently used social media platforms during his 2016 campaign and throughout his presidency, and was banned from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in 2021, following his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol. The launch of his own app may be perceived as a retaliation for this ban from existing platforms, and has added to speculation as to whether Trump intends to run for presidency again in 2024.

While Trump has not confirmed whether he will run for office for a third time, Trump Media & Technology have hinted at plans to launch their own news channel (a potential rival to CNN), and an entertainment company to rival Netflix and Disney. The company have also indicated toward a venture into cloud computing, posing them as competition to Amazon and Google.

NayaPay cinch largest seed funding in South Asia for messaging and payment app

Fintech platform NayaPay have raised USD $13m (£9.5m) in the largest seed financing round in South Asia, to further the launch of their messaging and payment app. The funding will also allow NayaPay to build financial management tools and payment acceptance for fellow Pakistan-based businesses.

The payment app allows people based in Pakistan to send and receive money, make secure payments from their smartphones, and split bills, leading what NayaPay CEO and founder, Danish Lakhani, is confident is a digital revolution in Pakistan.

With a population of 220 million people, Pakistan still relies heavily on cash transactions; according to a report from World Bank, roughly 100 million people in Pakistan are unbanked, with women, students, and freelance workers most affected.

Speaking to TechCrunch, Lakhani outlined his plans for NayaPay to make banking more accessible in Pakistan, commenting: “Students and freelancers are among the most underbanked population, and they are our first target market. They find it very difficult to open bank accounts because they don’t have a sense of income. Bank compliance departments consider them very high risk, but we see them as a group with the highest lifetime value.”

Booyah Advertising acquire FiveFifty in launch of programmatic media division

Denver-based digital advertising firm, Booyah Advertising, have purchased programmatic agency FiveFifty. The acquisition means FiveFifty will be incorporated by Booyah as part of their newly launched programmatic division.

FiveFifty by Booyah is to be led by Ryan Wilson, former CEO at FiveFifty. The combination of the two companies is intended to create an enhanced digital offering to their combined client roster of over 200 brands in travel and tourism, outdoor apparel, luxury beauty, and financial service verticals. The clients FiveFifty have brought with them in the acquisition will benefit from Booyah’s full range of digital services, including paid social, video, and Amazon strategy and management, in addition to SEO, content marketing, creative, and analytics services.

Commenting on the acquisition, Troy Lerner, CEO of Booyah Advertising said: "Booyah has long sought to expand via acquisition, and we have been waiting to find an agency that not only is the best at what they do, but that shares our values and complements our expertise. FiveFifty was the first company we've looked at that checks all those boxes and is one with which we’ve been familiar and friendly for years.”

Wilson added that FiveFifty see the acquisition as "a big win for our current clients, the FiveFifty team, and Booyah”, adding, “we are ready to collaborate with the folks at Booyah and bring our unique programmatic trading expertise to their existing clients."