I had this article penned down in my head since last year. But I was still waiting to study and understand the vastness of our resolves to appreciate passion, smart work and the beauty of little beginning.
NamMi — pronounced as “Nam Mi” is an Ibibio word meaning “Do it here”. We created NamMi in November 2016 to appreciate the great people who dedicate their lives providing quality services to people within their communities. NamMi is currently only in Akwa Ibom State which is an oil rich state in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. We have plans to roll it out to other parts of Nigeria as we scale.
We had to visit and interact with artisans in their various workplaces to learn and understand how they deliver their businesses and also the challenges these great people are facing. We deduced that these set of dedicated Nigerians have similar challenges and channels of doing business. Their goal is mainly to provide value, make a difference in people’s lives and make profit.
We met some who had a shop where they operate from and others who are talented but had no workshop but operate from their homes or virtual offices. Typical was a hair stylist who is so passionate and talented but does not have enough traffic to sustain her business. We asked her what she thought is responsible for that, she said her location.
Also is a plumber without a workshop that depends on referrals for jobs. He is so busy because he pays referrers commission to keep giving him leads. He definitely hopes to get a workshop soon so that he can be trusted by his customers. In his case, contact point was his major challenge.
“We are in business to help people, not just for profit” with NamMi, the hair stylist just like the plumber can get more referrals from previous customers and also great reviews to keep them in business no matter their location.
NamMi helps people find the best, trusted and professional artisans 800m around their current location. A busy Mum shared her experiences with us in one of the shops we visited;
“whenever I am looking for an electrician, tailor or plumber, I always find myself asking this question - who should do this for me? I always depend on friend’s recommendations to get artisans who work for me”
We are glad to share that NamMi now provide this service for her when friend’s recommendation is either not available or not trusted. We rely on local crowd-sourced experience and deep learning to answer this question better than an objective listings.
NamMi is on Google play store, Try NamMi today
visit NamMi website for more info
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