Starprize winner of the Onlime December 2017 promotions has returned and was welcomed at their Hill Station office by Onlime’s chairman, Stuart Bentham, who heard testimonies from her 5-day all-expenses-paid trip to Accra, Ghana.
Hawanatu Agnes Songo, who travelled with her partner, said their stay at the Roots Apartment Hotel, the serene and beautiful neighbourhood of Off Oxford Street in Osu, was breathtakingly important for them as partners and first time travellers.
She said she had to dedicate those fond moments to Limey, the social media networking site specifically designed to serve the Sierra Leone market with features that promote family ties and real friendships beyond virtual meetings and acquaintances.
The Accra experience
“We had an uninterrupted light and internet services. Great breakfast and typical Ghanaian foods like ‘Banku and Okrasoup’ and then ‘Kenken and Fish’, which we bought from outside the hotel,” she said, adding that they were also taken on a conducted tour of the Art Gallery and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum where they saw his grave.
“We had lots of fun and we even went to the Bojo Beach with a luxury resort on the south coast of Accra, Ghana. They tell us that the beach embodies the best of the Ghanaian hospitality. Before we left for Sierra Leone we went to the Accra Mall at Spintex Rd and we bought lots of items – bags, sleepers, sandals and dresses,” said Agnes.
Discovering Limey
“I first came to know about the platform through a friend and later developed interest and became a very active user,” said the second year student of the College of Theology and Management reading Community Development.
“One good thing about the social networking site is the fact that it is well secure. Privacy is guaranteed. Many of my college mates are now competing for the most active person on Onlime after my amazing win,” she said.
She said while her guy kept joking about her win, she was busy being active and helping many others with the use of the app, and sharing it with them through Xender, Bluetooth and downloading from the Google App Store.
The Promotion
After the promotion in December 2017, which gave some 6,000 people already on Limey and prospective social media users the opportunity to download the Limey App on Google Play Store for Android users or Apple store for iPhone users, three top winners emerged. Others won prizes like a one-year unlimited internet service.
Hawanatu is a social media enthusiast and one of three top prizewinners in the December Promotion. One of two others, Salaymatu Sesay, had a dinner for two at the prestigious Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel while Emmanuel Morrison won an all-expense paid weekend for two at the exquisite resort in a serene place outside Freetown called The Place.
‘A dream come true’
For Salaymatu a dinner for two at the Radisson Blu, an oceanfront luxe hotel set on Aberdeen Beach, was a dream come true, a moment she said she would cherish for a long time to come.
“I have always yearned for an opportunity not only to visit Radisson Blu but to be treated to their hospitality and good food. Finally, I have made it here under the aegis of Onlime,” she said.
With the two youngsters, the five-hour dinner was full of comic interactions and photo taking sessions on top and other attractive places around the hotel. She said the dinner marked a historic moment in the lives of her and her sister.
“To be honest with you, I was wondering how to even order for most of the foods I'm enjoying now. I'm really proud to be here, with virtually no expense on me,” said Salaymatu.
Both she and her sister are now on and are very active on the Limey social networking platform. They first came to know about and use the facility on the 1 December, 2017 at a beauty pageant for Miss East End that was sponsored by Onlime at Hotel 5'10 and organised by Zainab Sheriff, one of Sierra Leone’s most celebrated models and show promoters.
The December 2017 Promotion
Explaining the process that produced and crowned the top winners, Digital Marketing and Sales Specialist, Mohamed Sheriff Bah, told a battery of journalists that the raffle draws, held in the full glare of viewers on Star Television, were transparent and fair.
“Limey is the trendiest social community and social media platform we have launched to bring people together. Once signed up a user can search for other members in a town or city, members with similar interests or set up a group to discuss with like-minded people, chat, listen to music and watch videos on the go from the best artists in Sierra Leone,” he explained.
Also, apart from the internet connectivity they provide to hundreds of thousands of individuals and institutions, he said they had endeavoured to reach the under-served communities to foster commerce, health, education and e-governance. Very soon, he added, they would be in other parts of the country.
Earlier, the company’s Marketing Manager, David Kpakima, told a press conference that: “Onlime has established the Limezone Wi-Fi initiative, with spots strewn across the city, to focus on accelerating the national pace of internet connectivity. We developed, tested and launched small-scale network architectures using an entrepreneurial business model that gives small and medium-sized enterprises the opportunity to operate a Wi-Fi”.
The idea according to Stuart
The Onlime chief said they actually had wanted to see how the promotion was received and how others reacted by gauging their perceptions on the platform.
“Next, we want to try something different from the Ghana trip as a prize. We want to make meaningful rewards to loyal Limey subscribers. But I am pleased to say the number on the platform has been growing steadily and we continue to keep people engaged with a benefit to them,” he explained.
The tech entrepreneur, who said he was happy to invest in the country, said they planned on having smaller promotions in between bigger promotions that would develop the platform while they continue to improve on content.
“The idea is that because people are more particular to participate in their own social communities, much against what people think about globalisation, we think a platform like Limey serves that purpose perfectly,” he said.
© 2015 Politico Online
