Trivzia, a Lahore-based live video streaming platform, announced today that it has raised slightly more than $400,000 (PKR 65 million) in a seed round from Pakistan-focused 47 Ventures. The startup hosts a live trivia game show called Jeeto Naye Andaz Say, in which participants compete for cash prizes by correctly answering ten multiple-choice questions.
Jeeto, Trivizia’s game show, was founded in late 2019 by Waqqas Alvi, Waqas Shahid, Jahnzaib Shahid, and Ejaz Rana. It airs daily at 10 PM and attracts up to 10,000 participants. Its mobile application has over 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store. Participants must join the show from the start and continue answering questions as they are shared by the host and appear on their mobile screens. They have ten seconds to answer each question correctly and are advanced to the next level if they do. Correctly answering all ten questions earns a share of the announced prize pool.
I downloaded the app and took part in one of their shows last week. Even though I was unable to correctly answer all ten questions, I enjoyed my experience on the game show and gained new knowledge in the process. I continued to watch the rest of the show, and over 500 people won the show, sharing a prize pool of PKR 15,000 – which equated to less than PKR 30 for each of the winners.
While game shows have always been popular in Pakistan, the founders of Trivzia set out to make them more accessible. In most cases, the live game shows hosted by Pakistani television channels are attended by a few dozen people in the studio. Jeeto Naye Andaz Say’s mission with Jeeto Naye Andaz Say is to enable anyone in Pakistan to participate in a similar experience for entertainment, learning, and rewards.
Trivzia is currently developing a real-time market research and digital advertising solution that will enable brands to promote their products through the company’s platform, co-founder Waqaas Alvi told MENAbytes, adding that it will eventually become the company’s primary source of revenue.
He stated in a statement, “While Youtube Live, Facebook Live, and other social platforms have already addressed the challenges of live streaming media, with Jeeto Naye Andaz Say, we are addressing the complexities of interactive live streaming at scale.” Our user base is growing daily, and this funding round will assist us in optimising the technology to overcome this obstacle.”
“The incredible team at Trivzia is building the future of live, interactive mass communication,” said Khurram Zafar, Country Director for 47 Ventures Investment. The first step is a skill-based, live, interactive, rewards game show. We’re looking forward to the future, which includes more frequent and specialised shows, educational content geared toward younger demographics, and the development of a real-time market research and digital advertising platform.”
The startup intends to use the funds to expand its user base, strengthen its team, and improve the scalability and performance of its streaming platform, which currently supports millions of concurrent players.
