Mema provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the business.

The Mema website domain (“mema.co.za”) was registered by Quinton Le Grange on August 3rd, 2008.

Quinton registered the Mema address through a PO Box in Cape Town, South Africa.

On his Facebook profile Le Grange states he “works at Mema”. Whether he owns the company is unclear.

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money.

Mema Products

Mema markets a range of third-party telephonic services:

  • emergency medical
  • personal health advisor
  • roadside assistance
  • home assistance
  • tax and financial assistance and
  • legal assistance

A repatriation of mortal remains service is also offered, provided ‘the deceased’s body is more than 100km from their place of residence (and) within South Africa.’

Access to each of the above services is R50 ZAR a month ($3.70 USD).

The Mema Compensation Plan

Mema affiliates pay a monthly fee. Commissions are paid when they recruit others who do the same.

Note that the compensation plan presented on the Mema website appears to be out of date.

The following analysis is from a YouTube video titled “MEMA Compensation plan explained!”

The video was uploaded to the official Mema YouTube channel (Mema Affiliate Marketing (Pty) Ltd) on September 10th, 2017.

Direct Recruitment Commissions

Mema affiliates are paid a R50 ZAR direct recruitment commission for each new affiliate they recruit.

Residual Commissions

To qualify for residual commissions a Mema affiliate must pay service fees for at least two months worth of service fees (minimum one service).

Mema pay residual commissions via a unilevel compensation structure.

A unilevel compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):

If any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team.

If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.

Mema cap payable unilevel levels at ten, with commissions paid out as a percentage of service subscription fees paid by unilevel team affiliates each month.

First level unilevel commissions are subject to a variable commission rate, based on the total number of affiliates recruited:

  • Bronze – recruit and maintain one affiliate and receive a 50% first level commission
  • Silver – recruit and maintain two affiliates and continue to receive a 50% first level commission
  • Gold –  recruit and maintain three affiliates and receive a 40% first level commission
  • Platinum – recruit and maintain four affiliates and receive a 30% first level commission
  • Diamond – recruit and maintain five or more affiliates and receive a 20% first level commission

Above Diamond you have the Eagle rank, which requires a Mema affiliate to

  • recruit and maintain at least seven affiliates, three of which are Gold ranked
  • have at least nine Gold ranked affiliates on the second level of their unilevel team and
  • have at least eighteen Silver ranked affiliates on the third level of their unilevel team

How much a Mema affiliate earns on their first level also dictates commission rates and unilevel levels an affiliate earns on.

  • Bronze – 4% on levels 2 to 4
  • Silver – 5% on levels 2 to 5
  • Gold – 6% on levels 2 to 6
  • Platinum – 7% on levels 2 to 7
  • Diamond – 8% on levels 2 to 8

Once an affiliate hits the Eagle rank, they are paid a variable percentage across ten unilevel levels.

The variable percentage is based on monthly subscription volume generated on each unilevel level.

  • the highest of the ten levels pays a 15% commission
  • the second highest a 13% commission
  • the third highest an 11% commission
  • the fourth highest a 9% commission
  • the fifth highest a 7% commission
  • the sixth highest a 6% commission
  • the seventh highest a 5% commission
  • the eighth highest a 4% commission
  • the ninth highest a 3% commission
  • the tenth highest a 2% commission

Joining Mema

Mema affiliate membership is R70 ZAR a month.

In an affiliate’s first 90 days they are able to subscribe to up to three Mema services (R150 ZAR or $11.10 USD).

After 90 days the affiliate can choose to subscribe to more services, at a rate of R50 ZAR a month for each service ($3.70 USD).

Mema marketing material suggests that each affiliate must subscribe to at least one Mema service.

This pegs the total cost of Mema affiliate membership at between R120 to R420 ZAR ($8.90 to $31 USD).

The Mema website mentions a R200 ZAR annual membership and activation fee.

Whether this includes or is on top of the R70 ZAR monthly fee mentioned in Mema’s official compensation plan video is unclear.

Conclusion

The Mema website states that

Members without a CONNECT @ MEMA AFFILIATE BUSINESS PROGRAM subscription, are considered a “Customer”.

This suggests that retail sales are possible within Mema, however there is absolutely no mention of them in Mema’s September 10th compensation plan video.

This is a strong indication that retail subscription sales are not a core focus of the company.

I also have a suspicion that the above quoted text refers to affiliates who stop paying their affiliate fees, as opposed to genuine retail customers signing up for service subscriptions.

Instead the Mema compensation plan video focuses on affiliate recruitment.

“Get three people who get three people” etc., with the narrator claiming the average MLM affiliate is able to recruit at least three affiliates.

An MLM company that primarily derives revenue from affiliates is paying on recruitment and operating as a pyramid scheme.

Mema appear to be squarely operating in pyramid scheme territory, with retail service subscriptions, if any, non-existent.

This can be verified by prospective Mema affiliates by enquiring how many active non-affiliate subscriptions a potential upline has.

As to the services themselves, they appear to be your standard third-party telephonic offering.

We’ve seen similar services bundled with a monthly fee before, with the model a bit of a mixed bag.

Personally I think third-party telephonic services go hand in hand with affiliate recruitment, as there doesn’t seem to be much of a retail market for them.

At least not what’s offered at an MLM level. More often than not you’re going to be getting some entry-level service, and if you need anything beyond that you’ll be hit up for additional fees.

Granted Mema’s services aren’t expensive at R50 ZAR each (at least not by western standards), but money is money and there’s no point shelling out each month for something you’re not using.

If you’re actually shelling out just to participate in a recruitment scheme however, that’s another story.

Approach with caution.