Geospatial technology company Genesys Tuesday launched its location finding website WoNoBo.com and hopes to attract nearly four million local businesses.
"It is a brand new platform that combines various audio and visual location finding technologies like geospatial to give a complete overview of the location that the user is trying to find," Sajid Malik, managing director, Genesys International Corporation, told IANS.
"The uniqueness about this platform is that users can post their reviews about locations or places of interests, and others can actually review the whole experience of the place themselves. This leaves very little aspect of partiality in what is being showcased on the platform."
According to Malik, the new platform has taken an investment of about $35 million and two years of development in India. This, he says, might be the largest Indian platform development effort yet.
The company expects the new platform to break even within 18 months and expects to attract nearly four million possible advertisers like local stores, restaurants, guided tour operators and hotels.
"We have enabled these business owners like local stores, restaurants and guides to make several interesting activities like city trails or city walks for their clientele and to attract potential customers," Malik said.
"Apart from the current utilisation of the platform it can be transformed to include nearly 150 different types of verticals which can cater to hotel, train and air transport bookings."
In the initial phase, the website will feature 12 Indian cities which will then be increased to 54 cities across the country.
The company has tied up with the tourism ministry to promote its flagship branding campaign, Incredible India, through its new platform.
"We have tied up with the tourism ministry to promote Incredible India campaign by introducing theme-based city walks on the platform. Initially there will be five cities under this category which will eventually be expanded to 54 cities," Malik added.
The company said the city-based geospatial platform has other usages like urban planning and development and such verticals might be developed later in collaboration with relevant authorities.
