Naija Workman set for early 2014, links Nigeria’s informal workforce to jobs

Naija Workman is ready to take the new year’s informal economy by storm as it preps itself to launch next month. The platform aims to become a pioneer in the Nigerian local services market by efficiently organizing the informal sector for local services and streamlining the hiring process for customers.

Though booming, issues such as legitimacy and trust are still rife in the informal industry and access to West Africa’s informal economy is extremely limited. Naija Workman wants to change this. The company is described as Nigeria’s online services marketplace that wants to redefine the procurement of local services by providing access to a secure, comprehensive and transparent platform.

How does the service work exactly? Customers or businesses describe their request online or via the phone which is then matched up with the available services’ location and availability. The aim is then to assemble a handful of qualified bids within 2-24 hours which are then subject for review.

The platform also offers detailed service provider profiles and ratings as well as reviews from past customers to encourage transparency and overall legitimacy. Furthermore, to help the selection process, vouchers and coupons are up for grabs for customers who reach specific milestones.

People in need of services, ranging from plumbing, electricians, home cleaning, hairdressers or photography, are connected to a local qualified service provider who have been pre-screened.

Co-founders of Naija Workman Bassey O Bassey and Anthony Kuyoro say, “The company plans to aggressively expand its service breadth to encompass almost all types of local services over time and is the only platform that incorporates background and licensing checks on artisans”.

Ultimately, Naija Workman wants to turn these manual, time-consuming, inefficient processes of finding and booking a local service provider in Nigeria into an efficient, reliable, e-commerce experience. As the co-founders explain:

“Naijaworkman.com aims to solve the highly challenging and complex problem of local service search in underdeveloped markets and offer Nigerians a secure, convenient and hassle-free way to determine the best qualified service provider to fulfill their job requests. We will ensure consumers receive the best value in terms of quality and price every time as service providers compete for their business.”