Have you ever had the need to fix something in your home, say your television set or plumbing work, but realized that you didn’t know who could do the job? Worse still, you actually know someone, but you just don’t trust that person. “Kunle is good, but his shakara is too much.”
Quite a lot of people have experienced this at one point or the other. If only there was a way to get the handyman you need without going through the stress of verifying their capabilities and actually getting them to get the job done.
Well, one startup understood these concerns and lashed on the opportunity.
Let’s meet WeSabi, an online marketplace to find and hire skilled artisans in Nigeria.
Wesabi is a secure and, frankly, more powerful alternative to existing services like Jiji. It was founded way back in 2015 by popular individuals like Sanni Murtala, Lord-Mallam Nugwan, Zainab Oyewo and Japheth Omojuwa.
How Does Wesabi work?
It’s quite a simple idea. Wesabi finds you affordable, trained and thoroughly vetted workers for both domestic and commercial needs.
What you need to do is simple. Log on to the website or the mobile app. Select the work you need done like repairs, installation or maintenance. Then the platform scouts through its large pool of verified artisans, and selects the most qualified, verified and available person to render the service you require.
It’s that simple. Best part: you pay only after the job has been completed.
From today, service providers and workmen can now join the WESABI platform by dialling a USSD code. *347*9# pic.twitter.com/h6UJhzyxNi
— Wesabi (@WesabiHQ) January 3, 2018
The platform has an array of services it supports. These include washman, electronics repair, carpentry, AC repairs, generator repairs, among many others.
Although compared to Jiji, Wesabi doesn’t offer many services. But it offers more security and trust; it recruits its skilled artisans offline and get them on to the platform. Skilled people engaged through the Wesabi platform are verified and customers leave reviews about them after the job is done.
The platform goes a step further to provide insurance for clients. This insurance covers against theft or damages to the client’s property. This gives users “ultimate peace of mind knowing that every eligible task you request is covered.”
These measures help to reduce the fear that comes with hiring a complete stranger to get a job done.
The platform also offers a maintenance subscription service, allowing clients to get frequent maintenance jobs done easily and regularly. No more worries about who to call to do a routine maintenance job!
Wesabi’s Client Base
Since its launch in 2015, Wesabi has recorded some impressive growth. It has helped employ 1272 skilled people. That’s an impressive number, more so considering that the platform only supports Lagos and Abuja for now.
According to its website, Wesabi has a broad set of clients, ranging from the everyday household to enterprise clients. Its enterprise clients include Jaiz Bank, Jobberman, and Stanbic IBTC Bank.
“While we were doing our beta test, we noticed most of these firms would rather not deal directly with artisans,” co-founder Sanni Murtala told Disrupt Africa.
As long as they can have access to quality, it would be a great relief for them if they could find just that one source who could provide them with these logistics.
@WesabiHQ I need you in Kaduna. I'm tired of all these unreliable people I have to deal with.
— Dals™ 🇳🇬 (@Dals_Njidda) May 4, 2018
The existence of Wesabi is quite a relief for many Nigerians. But its surprising that the startup is not as popular as it should be. More people, clients, and artisans alike, still patronise platforms like Jiji, compared to the 1,558 people using Wesabi.
If the platform is to go viral and reach the large market it targets, then it must do more.
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