The Sunday Mail
Panashe Mabeza
A local company, Technites Africa, has launched a digital platform that links customers to independent service providers such as highly skilled individuals, small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and corporates.
The company’s chief operating officer, Mr Rahul Patel, said the database creates an ecosystem, where jobs are attracted to service providers.
“The biggest challenge Africa faces is extremely high unemployment among its youth and most skilled professionals who have found themselves struggling to find any work in the formal and informal sectors of their nations,” said Mr Patel.
“This platform provides an opportunity for every skilled professional in Africa to be recognised and to be brought back into the job market without applying to an employer. Once registered on the platform, the jobs come to you, instead of you looking for the job.”
He said the platform includes modules for ‘business to consumer’ services (B2C), ‘business to business’ (B2B), ‘business to government’ (B2G), a skills training academy (The Technites Academy), as well as Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality solutions.
However, the recent launch initially focuses on the ‘business to consumer’ platform, which connects customers to service providers covering over 50 different domestic and commercial services.
And the services range from domestic repairs/services (plumbing, appliance and electrical repairs, landscaping), beauty services, satellite, IT, domestic and commercial installations (satellite, mechanical, IT, electronics), events management, beauty services, home care and construction.
The company views technites as skilled professionals with auditable qualifications, who offer services that are included on the platform.
Technites Zimbabwe chief executive officer, Ms Dorothy Zimuto said the platform has the potential to create employment.
“Technites is a future proof way of creating employment, which recognises the skills that an individual or SME has, while digitally pooling all the jobs that exist in a market. That is what is revolutionary about Technites,” she said.
The company says digital platform integrates two applications — a customer app and a service provider app — that interface to provide an Uber-like experience, complete with GPS maps to indicate the location of the customer and service provider simultaneously.
The service providers are security screened through the police and their qualifications are checked and uploaded to the platform.
The platform also has integrated mobile and other payment solutions for ease of transactions.
It is believed that payments — from funds that are held in escrow (holding account) — are released when a customer is happy with the service provided.
Further, service providers are rated every time they do a job.
Technites has already started rolling out these services in over nine African countries including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Botswana and Zambia.
