EchoVC Partners, a seed and early stage technology-focused venture capital fund, has announced an investment of up to $1m in Nigerian digital advertising startup S&T Media.

The seed capital will be used to invest in expansion, product development, and hardware and staff acquisition.

Eghosa Omoigui, Founder and Managing General Partner, EchoVC Partners, said: “We were impressed with S&T Media’s ingenuity in developing new routes to market for advertisers in Africa, namely via location-based digital.”

“The velocity at which they’ve built a for-Africa product, attracted content suppliers, key advertising partnerships as well as a distribution network with such notable brands, is a combination of their excellent product, as well as the market’s willingness to use targeted marketing methods to reach their end user. The customer feedback has been fantastic and reflects the platform’s ability to consistently resonate with advertisers and consumers alike.”

S&T Media is a Lagos based digital advertising agency.

The company has recently secured exclusive retail deals with Spar and CityDia, to install their latest innovation, AdEdge, an in-store digital advertising screen that installs screens on the aisle shelves to bring commercials to the point of purchase.

According to S&T, AdPump is the only digital advertising network in Africa to target consumers at petrol pumps.

The EchoVC’s investment was secured after AdPump’s successful pilot to launch and install 160 screens across Lagos in 17 filling stations.

S&T Media has since signed exclusive distribution deals with a number of Nigeria’s filling station companies, including Oando, Forte Oil and Total, totaling 1,000 stations across the country.

The company’s advertising partners include Etisalat, Jumia, Smile Communications, House on the Rock, GT Bank and Mall for Africa.

Tolu Roberts, S&T Co-founder, said: “With EchoVC on board, we have found more than just an investor but also a partner who understands effective growth of tech start-ups. We are confident that we can penetrate the advertising market with our innovative platforms whilst leveraging on EchoVC’s strategic partnerships.”