This month marks one year since Onward Chironda become an AVAC fellow for Zimbabwe. Onward who is a renowned youth leader and advocate for the Health, Rights, and well-being of young people in their diversity became a fellow in 2022.
By Staff Reporter
Onward is part of the fellowship among other fellows in South Africa, Uganda, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, and Kenya who are doing similar work in advocacy and engagement work to ensure that duty bearers in terms of governments and civil society actors are held accountable for guaranteeing the right to health for all.
Onward’s advocacy journey started in 2012 when he became the National Facilitator of the Young People’s Network on SRHR, HIV, and AIDS in Zimbabwe. He then after the fellowship focused on building his brainchild organization My Age Zimbabwe into a youth-led organization that is one of the leading organizations that pushed for gender equality, health, rights, and well-being of young people in Zimbabwe. Through the fellowship work, Onward envisions a world where all people are able and empowered to make well-informed, autonomous choices about their bodies without being criminalized, stigmatized, or excluded, so that they can enjoy the highest level of SRHR fulfillment and the lowest vulnerability to STIs, HIV, and other poor health outcomes.
Some of the wins Onward has scored through the fellowship include engaging religious leaders on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity resulting in building a movement of religious leaders that support the needs of Key Populations. He worked with religious leaders from diverse religious movements on camera to speak out on religion and sexuality and produced a digital conversation that went viral on a local social media influencers page, Zimcelebs.. On World AIDS Day 2022, Onward partnered with HIFIC to engage religious leaders and journalists through a Media Café which attracted journalists and religious leaders from Zimbabwe and Uganda respectively who spoke strongly on the need to end stigma and discrimination perpetrated against Key Populations.
No Deposit Incentives: How Betzella Traces Their Development
The evolution of gaming incentives represents a fascinating chapter in the broader history of online entertainment. Since the early 2000s, promotional offers have transformed from simple marketing tools into sophisticated engagement strategies that shape user experience. Betzella, a platform known for its analytical approach, has developed comprehensive methods for tracking these evolutionary patterns, offering valuable insights into how incentives have adapted to changing regulatory landscapes, technological advancements, and shifting consumer preferences. Understanding this development provides a window into not just marketing tactics, but the fundamental relationship between platforms and users in the digital age.
The Historical Evolution of Gaming Incentives
The concept of promotional incentives in gaming can be traced back to the late 1990s when online platforms first emerged. Initially, these offers were straightforward and primarily focused on deposit matching. However, as competition intensified in the early 2000s, platforms began experimenting with more innovative approaches. Betzella’s historical analysis identifies 2008 as a pivotal year when no deposit bonuses gained significant traction, allowing players to explore platforms without financial commitment.
By 2010, these incentives had become increasingly sophisticated, with segmentation based on player profiles and behaviors. Regulatory changes in major markets between 2012-2015 forced further evolution, with platforms adapting their bonus structures to comply with new requirements while maintaining appeal. Betzella’s tracking methodology reveals that this period saw the emergence of more transparent terms and conditions, with clearer wagering requirements and time limitations.
The period from 2016-2020 marked what Betzella researchers call the “personalization era,” where data analytics enabled highly targeted incentive structures. This shift represented a fundamental change in approach—moving from mass-market promotions to individualized experiences designed to match specific player preferences and behaviors.
Technical Infrastructure for Tracking Incentive Development
Betzella’s approach to analyzing incentive evolution relies on sophisticated data infrastructure. Their system employs a three-tiered methodology that combines historical data mining, real-time market analysis, and predictive modeling. This comprehensive framework allows for nuanced understanding of how different types of promotions perform across various demographics and markets.
At the technical core of their tracking system is a proprietary algorithm that categorizes promotional offers based on 27 distinct variables, including value proposition, eligibility requirements, and redemption patterns. Particularly noteworthy is their analysis of no deposit bonuses across different regulatory environments, revealing significant variations in effectiveness depending on market maturity and competitive density.
The platform’s data visualization tools transform complex promotional data into actionable insights, enabling researchers to identify emerging patterns and anomalies. This technical infrastructure has been particularly valuable in understanding how external factors—such as economic conditions, regulatory changes, and technological innovations—influence incentive effectiveness and evolution.
Psychological Dimensions of Incentive Effectiveness
Beyond tracking the structural evolution of promotions, Betzella has conducted extensive research into the psychological mechanisms that determine their effectiveness. Their studies indicate that successful incentives operate on multiple psychological levels, engaging both immediate reward systems and longer-term loyalty mechanisms.
Research conducted between 2018-2021 revealed that the psychological impact of no deposit bonuses differs significantly from other promotional types, creating what Betzella terms a “reciprocity effect” that influences subsequent player behavior. The perceived generosity of receiving value without initial commitment establishes a relationship dynamic that, when properly leveraged, translates into stronger platform loyalty.
Cognitive biases also play a crucial role in how incentives are perceived and valued. Betzella’s analysis identifies the “endowment effect” as particularly relevant—once players receive a bonus, they tend to value it more highly than its actual monetary worth. This psychological principle helps explain why even modest promotional offers can generate significant engagement when structured appropriately.
Future Trajectories and Emerging Trends
Looking forward, Betzella’s predictive analysis identifies several emerging trends likely to shape the next generation of gaming incentives. Gamification elements are increasingly being integrated into bonus structures, transforming passive rewards into interactive experiences. This approach aligns with broader entertainment trends, where engagement is prioritized over simple transactional relationships.
Another significant development is the integration of blockchain technology and tokenization into incentive systems. This approach offers greater transparency and potentially resolves long-standing issues around bonus terms and conditions. Betzella’s research suggests that blockchain-verified promotional offers could become standard by 2025, particularly in markets with sophisticated regulatory frameworks.
Personalization will likely reach new levels of sophistication, with AI-driven systems creating dynamic incentive packages that adapt in real-time to individual player behaviors and preferences. This represents the culmination of trends that Betzella has been tracking for over a decade, pointing toward an increasingly individualized future for digital engagement strategies.
The study of incentive evolution provides valuable insights not just for the gaming industry but for digital engagement more broadly. Betzella’s methodical tracking of these developments reveals how promotional strategies reflect deeper shifts in consumer expectations and technological capabilities. As platforms continue to refine their approaches, understanding these historical patterns becomes essential for predicting future developments and creating more meaningful digital experiences. The sophisticated analysis of incentive evolution ultimately tells a story about changing relationships between platforms and users—a narrative that continues to unfold in increasingly complex ways.
With support from the Hosting Organisation GALZ, Onward managed to work with 20 KP-Led organizations building their capacity on PEPFAR and Global Fund processes, the process was timely as the organizations managed to come up with priorities for the COP23 processes and of the drafted priorities, 13 of them made it into the country communities COP. This will result in PEPFAR supporting more service providers to provide SRHR and HIV services for Key Populations, PEPFAR Implementing Partners must increase SOGIE / SC training for health services providers and shun any human rights violations in order to achieve targets, Increase funding for KP Led organizations to conduct campaigns and awareness of Intimate partner violence and GBV and strengthening of referral systems that target Sex Workers and the LGBTIQ+ community who use drugs including supporting the establishment of rehabilitation centers.
Onward currently is working on developing a KP-inclusive Dummy Minimum Services Standard Package for the Adolescence Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and implementation plan which is being developed by the Ministry of Health and Child Care. The win in this is making sure that all young people will have access to inclusive, non-judgemental, and human-centered SRHR and HIV prevention and management services in public Health Institutions.
“According to the World Health Organization, developing laws and policies that protect individuals’ sexuality, together with comprehensive sexuality education and stigma-free health services, greatly improves health and wellbeing, with a positive impact on HIV infection rates, mental health, and social equity. Our governments need to recognize policy, practice, and fund the central role sexual health and rights play in health equity, human rights, and development while ensuring the inclusion of these rights in all policies. The fellowship is an opportunity for me to be in the right spaces, join the right conversations and resonate on the need to achieve a healthy and fulfilling future for all people in their intersecting diversities.” Onward said.
The AVAC fellowship will end in September 2023, but the journey for Onward is not stopping as he has gained more knowledge and experience in advocacy work through mentorship and learning from other fellows. In his words, “After the fellowship, I am geared to take new challenges and responsibilities in terms of contributing to the advancement of the health, rights and wellbeing of all people around the world”
