Listen to this article
Below is our recent interview with Gilbert Mbeh, Chief Executive Officer at AbegYa:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to your company?
A: Inspired by hurdles familial to millions of African consumers living at home and in the Diaspora, AbegYa furnishes African consumers anywhere with instant digital access to the continent’s leading network of professional services providers in over 40 categories and locations. When you need to hire someone in Africa, AI-powered AbegYa quickly helps you find them for free.
Using a smartphone device, consumers can quickly identify, validate, and pay local experts across multiple service sectors, view their professional credentials, and probe reputations in assessments by registered users who speak with authority. Need an electrician? A plumber? or a doctor? An accountant? Select any of the 40 categories and a location. AbegYa will find nearby professionals who enjoy your neighbors’ trust and confidence. Alternatively, post your project and invite providers to submit bids. Either way, start work sooner and set the price upfront.
Q: Any highlights on your recent announcement?
A: We launched “AbegYa Gift A Service” so that millions of Africans living in the Diaspora can easily assist family and friends back home. Skip time consuming steps and reduce costs when a relative or friend seeks help to pay for urgent medical services, legal guidance, emergency travel or to fix an electrical failure at home — or dozens of other tasks that need doing. AbegYa streamlines this process. Instead of steps requiring hours or days, log into your AbegYa account, add your relative as beneficiary then select one of nine easy payment methods that pay service providers directly. All parties receive notification. The provider assured of payment performers the service. Funds are released when the service is completed.
Recommended: 60 Decibels Brings Speed And Repeatability To Social Impact Measurement And Customer Insights
Q: Can you give us more insights into your offering?
A: Personal experience shaped this initiative. Before I started AbegYa, I lost critical time when a friend back home needed help. When minutes counted, the process required days before the provider would proceed. Hefty fees enriched intermediaries instead of solving a problem. Hurdles hurt communities. Instead, AbegYa Gift a Service features a unique solution geared to friends and family of African consumers. This user-friendly digital platform reinforces communities. As soon as needs arise, help is on the way.
Q: What can we expect from your company in the next six months? What are your plans?
A: Our to-do list gets longer every day. Nothing would happen without the superb team devoted to AbegYa. Our short-term plan envisions a ten-fold increase in registered users by December 2022. We will add staff in three vital areas: product development, customer support, and marketing to reach that goal. We will also earmark funds to expand our activities where market research points us. Current plans focus on Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and North America.
Q: What is the best thing about your market that people might not know about?
A: Africa is a continent of over 1.2 billion people. More than 456 million people use Smartphones to connect to the internet. World-class universities are turning out vast numbers of educated consumers and skilled professionals in every field. Africa continues to command unmatched natural resources essential to modern industries. Manufacturing capacity on the continent is growing. Trade is expanding. Incomes are rising. All of this spurs demand for services. Yet millions of Africans who seek services still rely on old street signs, a simple word of mouth, and outdated directories. In this environment, searches take hours or days, with no possibility of validating track records. Wrong choices ruin individual jobs and waste money. In the big picture, a sluggish services sector bogs down economic growth. AbegYa fills this gap with proprietary algorithms that connect consumers and service providers. Everybody wins. Instant access to names and online reviews by actual customers lets consumers book providers who can solve problems. Providers reach a target audience that can build their business. When services hum, local, regional and national economies prosper.
