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There is no doubt that tech has been responsible for improving the way we live and has helped us connect with the world around us. For Nigerians in particular, it has empowered them financially by creating jobs and creating innovative ways to help the society. We got to speak with leaders of some of these […]
4 years ago
There is no doubt that tech has been responsible for improving the way we live and has helped us connect with the world around us. For Nigerians in particular, it has empowered them financially by creating jobs and creating innovative ways to help the society. We got to speak with leaders of some of these tech companies that aim to drive change and improve lives around them in the diaspora and back home. Check them out below.
1. Welkom- U
Relocating for school, a job, or just to japa can be an overwhelming experience but thanks to Welkom-U, you can sort out some aspects of your relocation process right from your phone. Welkom-U is an application that helps with immigration and settlement. Some of the services offered range from accommodation, student jobs and currency exchange. CEO Oluwatosin Ajibola and the rest of the founding team all had similar frustrating experiences with immigration and came up with the idea to automate the manual processes involved with relocating. This is Ajibola’s fourth attempt to start a business and it was hard to get people to initially get on board with the idea especially if they haven’t experienced relocation issues. Welkom-U started in October, 2019 and later got incorporated in May, 2020. So far, the application is in its beta stage and has brought on 60 percent of their target B2B service providers. If you’re thinking about relocating to Canada, definitely check out Welkom-U as a resource and look out for the launch of the application on your device app store.
Transparency is always key when looking for a new home. A lot of times when you check Google or a rental property site, there’s still a fear that things may be a facade and the rental company faked their reviews. While in college, Ofo Ezeugwu served as vice president of the student body at Temple University and noticed how student renters were dissatisfied with their housing options. This led to the idea of creating a platform called Whose Your Landlord where there could be more transparency in the rental process between the renter and home provider. Whose Your Landlord is not just a place for a renter to read reviews about properties but has created a resource for home providers to learn how to improve their retention rates and optimize their financial expenditures. It is a platform that can also serve as a resource for information on how to go about the rental process even if you’re just thinking about it. So far, Whose Your Landlord has over 350 cities with reviews in the US. It was named the “MVP of Landlord Review Sites” by ApartmentTherapy.com. It’s also been featured in Forbes, Newsweek, TechCrunch and even Blavity. It’s had notable partnerships with Allstate insurance, Walmart, American Express and more. More recently, Ezeugwu made the Forbes #Next1000 list. In the near future, Whose Your Landlord hopes to become an app and a common household name for those looking to move and homeowners that want to engage and understand their residents.
Finding your passion is one thing but true fulfillment comes when you figure out how to create a legacy and empower those around you. Brothers Chiko, Junior, and Okey Abengowe started MiTech to provide virtual and on site technical support services and serve as a bridge between corporations and the technical resources they may lack. Some of these services include security camera installs, computer repair and cleanup and device setup. MiTech also provides free IT training for those looking to gain experience and further their careers in IT along with paid opportunities. The company is passionate about these trainings in particular due to the difficulties professionals may face finding a job with lack of experience. Co-founder Okey, had a similar experience while completing his degree in computer science and this has inspired him to ensure that people get the training needed for career advancement. Since its launch in 2019, the company has grown in revenue and its network. Initially, building trust with companies was challenging but now MiTech has had successful contracts with companies such as J.P. Morgan where they provided 150 workstations and cubicles for a new branch. In the long run, MiTech plans to be a nationwide brand that can service people from their homes and become known as an affordable Geek Squad service. If you’re in the D.C./Maryland area and looking to advance your IT skills or have any other tech related concerns, check out MiTech Solutions.
4. Africlaim
One of the most frustrating things that can ever happen to you is a cancelled or delayed flight. Sometimes it can throw your plans off and the process involved in sorting it out can be discouraging. A lot of times, people walk away from these situations defeated and with no form of compensation. At Africlaim, African airline passengers can now get compensated online with three simple steps. There is no need to engage in any form of back and forth with the airline. All you have to do is go to the Africlaim website and follow the steps provided to get compensation for your flight. Africlaim was founded by Chibuzo Ofulue and Tseyinmi Omatseye. In 2017, Tseyinmi’s delayed flight back home led to their discovery of compensation claims. He tweeted about his flight delay and got replies from bots about getting compensated. After looking into it with legal help, he was compensated with £540 within a month. To help others, they opened a Twitter account to spread awareness of this and helped others online that have experienced this. Now, they’ve been able to help over 4,000 people get compensated for their flights. They’ve also been able to recover over £210,000 for clients across Africa. Being the first of its kind in Africa has posed initial challenges at the start of the business. Many passengers aren’t aware of their rights and don’t trust the legal system so they would rather sort the issue out themselves. Another issue is that the airlines try to conceal this information to avoid paying customers. So far, the co-founders have done their best in combining their aviation and business backgrounds to help passengers around Africa and now plan to launch a digital travel assistant named Skye to help clients find travel deals, file and manage their compensation claims, and plan their travel activities right from an app. In the next five years, they aim to expand their business across the Sub-Saharan African region. For now, the company is based in Nigeria. I don’t know about you but I’m already heading over to the website to get back some money from past flights!
