Sylvia Duruson
South African startup Adbot has partnered with leading Nigerian telecom MTN to bring its AI-powered ad management platform to small businesses in the country. This marks Adbot’s first expansion outside South Africa.
Adbot offers automated tools to help SMEs easily create and optimise online ad campaigns. Through the new partnership, Adbot will power MTN’s Thryve Google Ads service, enabling MTN’s SME customers to get ads up and running quickly.
The Thryve bundle provides data, website conversions and ad views to jumpstart digital marketing. Adbot’s platform then leverages AI to refine campaigns based on performance, ensuring effective and economical ad spending.
The partnership supports MTN’s mission to accelerate SME growth through digital channels. MTN Nigeria chief enterprise business officer Lynda Saint-Nwafor said teaming up with Adbot will empower Nigerian SMEs to better utilise search engines and digital platforms.
Nigeria is a strategic starting point for Adbot in West Africa thanks to its thriving technology and entrepreneurship scene. Founder Michelle Geere told TechCabal that Nigeria presents an opportunity to showcase automated ad capabilities beyond basic social media marketing, which is more common currently.
Geere said Adbot will focus on education to demonstrate how its AI-powered tools enable scalable, precise ad campaigns across platforms like Google and Bing. She cited the misunderstanding of automation as an initial challenge in South Africa.
“This partnership marks a momentous milestone as we venture into Nigeria, a thriving hub of innovation and entrepreneurship,” Geere stated. “By teaming up with the nation’s largest telecom, we can bring our cutting-edge advertising tool within reach of over 40 million MSMEs in the region.”
Following its seed funding round earlier this year, Adbot outlined Nigeria as a key early market for expansion. The startup aims to support African SMEs through automated, effective digital marketing at affordable costs. The MTN partnership represents a major first step toward establishing its presence in Africa’s top economies.
