Meet Hyacinth, 2018 TEF ALUMNI Who got Funding in the Commercial/Retail Sector
Meet Hyacinth: Nigeria’s digital landscape is flourishing. The country has one of the biggest internet economies in Africa. With the continent’s largest population and one of the youngest worldwide, Nigeria presents a vast digital audience. Nigeria has one of the best network coverages, as well as good infrastructure for mobile connectivity in Africa. In 2020, the number of online buyers in Nigeria was about 76.7 million. Nigeria’s total population amounts to 206 million and the online buyers are at about 46 percent.
Hyacinth decided to be an entrepreneur because he thinks entrepreneurship provides the feeling of having the license to discover and solve problems. This mindset has greatly motivated him to look at problems from the standpoint of creating a solution that solves it. As the founder and team lead of Quick Waka he has encountered problems that his business provides solutions for, and this has validated the importance of his choice of being an entrepreneur.”
The growing population in Nigeria has also presented some opportunities for product marketing even in areas with peculiar commuting challenges. Logistics has been one of the limitations of effective online marketing in highly populated locations in Nigeria. So, Order fulfillments are mostly outsourced to a third-party fulfillment company whenever possible for increased efficiency.
“We registered over 350 vendors with us and 4000 users that daily uses our platform to buy and sell. So, a lot of persons were able to sell their products from their homes while we picked up the products and delivered it to doorstep of the customer that placed the order. The ministry of business development in Ebonyi state gave us special recognition for our service during the pandemic.”
Quick Waka is solving the problem of inconvenience for online shoppers by delivering orders, shopping from local vendors, and connecting them to Local vendors within their location. Quick Waka platform is designed in such a way that vendors do not need to own smartphones or have access to the internet to sell their products. The team uploads their products online and when a customer orders it, their logistic team assigns a dispatch officer to pick up the product from the vendor and deliver it to the customer’s doorstep.
In 3 years after being funded by the Tony Elumelu foundation, Quick Waka has 450 registered vendors with over 6000 users. They currently have 13 dispatch outlets, and they have raised about $50,000 in revenue since its inception. They are currently at the stage of launching and expanding Their services to 5 other states before December 2022. The cities have been mapped out and plans have already kicked off.
Hyacinth has gained extensive knowledge on business management through the training she got on the programme
“TEF gave me the best entry opportunity into the entrepreneurship space- My biggest catch was not only the $5000, the 12 weeks training was the changer for me. It gave me a strong foundation in business. I call it a mini–MBA Today I can write a standard business plan, business report, financial projections and more. As a matter of fact, I have mentored several entrepreneurs online and on-site to
become TEF entrepreneurs.”One of the things that stood out for Hyacinthe was having access to a seasoned mentor. The mentor that was assigned to him during the training did not stop at the conclusion of the 12 weeks, he has also guided him through several business decisions. Today he is not just a TEF alumni, he is an idea development coach and business strategist cum entrepreneur.
“The best thing that happened to me in 2018 was to have been selected as a TEF entrepreneur.”
