For any tech entrepreneur to survive in Nigeria and Africa at large, they must create products and solutions that address the needs of the customers, Ifeanyi Nwoke, Head of Customer Success Team, Clickafix, has said.
Speaking alongside other experts at the monthly webinar series by Clickafix, Nwoke said it is critical for tech entrepreneurs to understand the pain points of their prospective customers and create solutions that address such pains.
According to him, tech products cannot survive on the feelings of the founders but on robust market research that identifies latent and obvious needs of the customers.
He added that confronting real-life problems in Africa with digitally enabled solutions requires ingenuity and a deep understanding of the peculiarities of each environment.
Another speaker at the seminar, Zion Thompson, said common issues with startups are the inability to find product market fit and founders’ market fit.
He said: “Most founders only have ideas but lack understanding of the market before sourcing funds for the idea.
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“It is important for founders to step outside of their idea and wear the customers’ shoes to be sure the problem they intend to solve truly exists,” he said. “It is also necessary for startups to find unique solutions if they must run on existing products and not just replicate existing products without adding anything extra.”
Thompson further said the problems to solve or the solutions being provided don’t have to be complex but must be user-oriented and user-friendly.
On the other hand, Nwoke said Clickafix is solving the problem of not having easy access to trusted and skilled artisans to get faults fixed at homes and offices by being a one-stop shop for home service repairs such as plumbing, carpentry, electrical, and technicians for air conditioning, refrigerators, generators, and other home appliances.
He added that Clickafix also provides home cleaning and fumigation services.
The Customer Success expert said Clickafix, which currently operates in Lagos, offers choices and convenience for customers who only need to download the app and register their details to get access to hundreds of tested and trusted artisans around them, and they can choose their preferred artisans based on ratings and whatever suits them.
He further explained that Clickafix is also helping artisans to grow their businesses by providing them access to customers and transforming the informal sector into a formal sector.
