Nigeria’s iFixng Raises USD 50 K in Seed Round, Plans to Increase Employment For Artisans
iFixng, a Nigerian handyman marketplace, has raised USD 50,000 seed funding last month, from an individual private investor Yomi Martin. The startup that had been running in its beta phase since 2016 and launched formally in May 2017 after multiple rounds of testing.
It has already created more than 250 jobs since its formal launch for the blue collared. The platform is currently web-based, but soon will also be launched on the mobile platforms.
Founder and CEO, Gerald Okonkwo got this idea while studying in school and working part-time with his friends on a platform called Wefixng. It is an on-demand home servicing platform that assists people in cleaning and mending chores of the house.
While for an end-user of the platform, the services are free, handymen and artisans are charged USD 3.5 to get two jobs on the platform. If the cost of the job is up to USD 56 then the start-up charges a fee of 5%.
This handymen marketplace has tied up with Heritage bank and brings all the artisan registered on its platform under financial inclusion. In addition to the bank accounts, iFixng has also tied up with Australian MI Education to certify the artisans formally.
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“I’m personally very excited about our activities at iFixng, we’ve succeeded in figuring out a way to provide jobs for handymen and artisans who are always in search for jobs and also easing the process for customers who want to hire professional and vetted handymen closest to them, via our online platform “, Gerald told WeeTracker.
The start-up is looking to partner with agents and vendors to get handyman and artisans registered onto the platform owing to limited technical knowledge. The platform, although, is open for individual registrations.
The funds will be utilized to increase promotions in form of digital marketing, on which was so far relying on word of mouth. The focus will also be to expand its artisan and customer base.
