START-UP technology company Pandosoft is tapping into the multibillion-dollar global animation industry with its newest business venture.

The company, which started from a need it saw in the market, now produces animation and interactive contents for companies looking to increase its engagement with consumers.

“Our new solution, loyalty kit, allows companies to engage its consumers outside of the company,” director

of Pandosoft Stephen Williamson told the Jamaica Observer. “Say you go to a restaurant, you make your order and when the waiter comes with the bill he asks you to play a game, maybe spin the wheel, and based on your results you can get a code that will allow you to download the company’s app and earn points.”

Consumer points increase overtime with their visits to the restaurant and are redeemable, ultimately resulting in a revisit to the restaurant.

“This way both you and the customers benefit,” he added.

Pandosoft started operations last year after entering Start-Up Jamaica, a five-year private/public sector initiative that provides business support for young innovators and entrepreneurs to grow their ideas into marketable products and services.

The company is operated by four individuals: Stefan Keane who holds the post of chief programmer; chief graphic artist Carlton Gordon; recently joined 2D animator and illustrator JoWayne McFarlane along with Williamson.

Pandosoft services includes website development, tabs and Facebook designs as well as mobile game applications.

“What we are focusing on now is gamification, which is taking gaming principles and applying it to the marketing principles. We have also moved from just doing animation to creating a platform of interactive contents,” Williamson told the Sunday Finance. “The cost of the products varies depending on the solution but it usually starts at $40,000.”

“I started the project in 2011 but it was challenging at first because I came in unprepared,” the director stated. “I had an idea of what I wanted to do but in terms of getting the business plan and marketing strategy we didn’t have that but got a lot of help from the Start-Up Jamaica programme.”

“And that’s how we came together as Pandosoft, realising the weaknesses from the first approach and then building upon it with a specific market strategy,” he added.

To get the idea off the ground the entrepreneurs had to invest some $500,000, which was financed through loans from the families. Still, the young entrepreneurs are seeing brighter days from being in an incubator at the Jamaica National Building Society Headquarters in Kingston.

“We don’t have the burden of rent and light bill and also being a tech company where most of what we do is on the computer has been beneficial to us. The main struggle now is cash flow because sometimes we might execute a project and not get paid for it until months later,” Williamson stated.

Pandosoft has already been contracted to work for Red Stripe, Nestle and Swizzle, among others and hopes to expand its services to the Caribbean and Latin America over the next few years.