[podcast]http://www.afrinnovator.com/afrincast/AfrinCastEpisode008IdeaBounty.mp3[/podcast]

Very recently we did an article surveying some prominent startups/projects in/from Africa built around a crowdsourcing model.

One of these was IdeaBounty from South Africa which is using crowdsourcing to get ideas for creative work (such as advertising and marketing campaigns) for big brands. They’ve done work for brands such as FNB, Capitec (both are prominent brands in South Africa), Levi jeans, BMW, Red Bull and many more. What’s even more interesting is that not only are they doing great work for international brands, but they also have over 11,000 creatives from 168 countries from whom they crowdsource for ideas for marketing campaigns, TV and print ads etc etc. Basically, they put up a ‘brief’ (like a problem statement) and their a monetary bounty for the best idea solving the problem and anyone from anywhere on the globe can pitch their idea and earn several thousand $$$ for their great idea if it turns out to be the best idea.

[Some sections in the conversation are a bit broken due to a not very good internet link when we did the Skype call -  I will restrain myself from ranting about the specific internet provider in Kenya]

Daniel, the IdeaBounty Captain talks about IdeaBounty, their success, and the future of businesses built around a similar model in Africa.

I must say, IdeaBounty have one of the best designed sites I have seen around. Check out their blog too. Check out some of the winning ‘bounty hunters’