On a rainy Monday evening, the Abraham Adesanya Roundabout along the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, was so flooded that many motorists were trapped in gridlock.
The gridlock was so much that many were still trapped by 2am. But someone who could not dare the stress of traffic jam heightened by the flood, stayed at the comfort of her home to monitor and direct others to take alternative routes or delay their return in order to save time and the stress of being trapped; thanks to technology.
All she did was to get updates from people trapped and post them on social media to alert many who are members of his social media group on the situation on the road.
Beyond that, she offers useful updates on a whole lot things and issues on her social media group; from updates on electricity supply, real estate, where to shop, among other useful information, which she gladly disseminates to people who need them free of charge, while enriching her data base at the same time.
Welcome to the world of Ore-Oluwa Solana, founder of Ibeju-Lekki Connect, otherwise known as IBLC, an online platform that helps new residents in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos to settle down without difficulties.
Ore-Oluwa, a trained Pharmacologist at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, and certified in Entrepreneurial Management from Enterprise Development Centre, the sister school of Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos has rightfully earned the title ‘Mr. Fix It’ within her vicinity through the useful update on Ibeju-Lekki Connect.
The social media enabled project, which started in March 2016 with a few people, now has almost 400 members who are benefiting from free services.
Recalling how the project started, she says it started by mistake. “I would say that Ibeju-Lekki Connect started by mistake. It started in March 2016 when I moved into the area, and I found out that I had problems and needed someone that could help. Now, somehow, I am finding solutions to the problems of many residents, and it has become a project. Today, we have presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram group of close to 400 people”, she explains.
The platform is truly evolving. It now has a website, lists real estate properties, most importantly, “when someone sends us a real estate request, all we do is connect him with people that provide such services”, she says.
To get all the necessary updates, she says, “I have to be a super observer”.
But while IBLC was a personal problem she tried to solve, she is now solving many people’s problems to a point she thinks that the Ibeju-Lekki Connect is ripe for paid membership, and hence she is organising a Meet and Greet Programme this September to discuss the paid membership with the members.
“I have been running the service free of charge for over three years now. Gradually, we have gotten to a point of upgrading our services and instituting paid membership for the group in order to sustain the project. Right now almost 400 members of the group are benefiting from free services. But we need to re-strategise and restructure what we do”, she explains.
She is optimistic that the paid membership will work because of the many projects she has handled in the past and in the present that are still successful, especially Bedazzle Innovation Multi-Services, which is based in Lagos.
“IBLC is a trademark under my company. We are proudly a fashion brand. So, I do fashion. I write embossment on T-shirts; I brand t-shirts with stones since 2011. I also do business advisory for small businesses and startups under a platform called Marketplace group with close to 10,000 people in the group. I have been doing this before I started IBLC, but right now, IBLC seems to be the biggest selling project”, she says.
Solana, a self-confessed knowledge junkie, is happy that life is becoming easier for more people in the area of coverage.
“With IBLC, life is a bit easier because once people in the area know the platform exists, they tap into it. New residents in the area can meet on IBLC platform to find out where to get what they want, and I direct them. When people get the right information, they feel safe and happy. By the time we cover the whole community, people will benefit a lot”, she concludes.
