Harness potential of software development — NandiMobile

NandiMobile’s software invention, Infoline product, which is a mobile and web service that connects consumers and businesses in emerging markets, was one of two of Ghana’s soft wares selected at the awards.
It was among the top five e-Business and Commerce category from about 500 entries received for the competition.

The Business Director of Nandimobile, Mr Edward Amartey-Tagoe, told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS,  that their achievement was indicative  of the fact that the software development sector in Ghana has some very good potential.

“We have some success stories to look up to. Unfortunately, we can't say we are as developed as the Silicon Valley in the United States, but there is an increase in enthusiasm,” he said.

He said government needed to play a bigger part than it is doing now and that Ghana saw a mobile boom in the 90's because the government liberalised the market for private players to introduce GSM.

In that same way, he said the government can introduce certain measures to propel more young ICT people to start their own companies.

About Nandimobile

Nandimobile is a Ghanaian IT company which focuses on building technologies that makes it better for businesses and organisations to communicate with their consumers on their phones.

It was founded by three trainees studying at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) These trainees are  Anne Amuzu, Michael Dakwa and Edward Amartey-Tagoe

Since they started in June 2010, they have developed three main products; Gripeline, Infoline and Connect Mobile App with Infoline being the most popular one among the three services.

Edward said their main focus was to use technology to bridge the communication gap between businesses and consumers.

“It is common to see many technologies which enable an individual to communicate with another individual. However, when it comes to communication tools which help organisations to communicate with consumers, we realise such tools are somewhat cumbersome or not convenient for the consumer. We therefore decided to leverage the mobile phone to enhance this communication,” he explained.

Typically, it takes between six to 10 months to build some of the services they are selling now. But in software development, one can never say he or she is finished with it, because technology needs to go through constant upgrades making sure it is secure, easy to use and comfortable for the client.

Software development process

Usually, he said it was dependant on what specifically one is building. At Nandimobile, they typically would build a mobile app or a web app, meaning it will be on the phone or can be used on the Personal Computer through a browser.

What they usually do is to identify a problem, come up with a solution and discuss features which can help solve that problem. They mostly identify a typical customer and engage it to see what they think about the problem and the proposed solution.

He said they sometimes make certain assumptions only to realise later on that it was not even a problem in the first place.

Therefore, “it is very necessary to engage the end-user. Once that is done, we come up with use-case scenarios and create wire-frames or drawings of what the product will look like. After that we identify what should be the best resource to building that and who on the team is good at it,” he said.

Though, they mostly get expertise internally to complete the tasks, if for one reason or the other they need to consider bringing an outsider on board, they do so.

How to use the software

It is as simple as sending an SMS to a friend or colleague. In this case, one can send the SMS to a company and the message is delivered in the company's account.

The respondent on the company's side however will not receive the message on a phone, but rather on a computer, and can use the computer to respond to the messages.

The software also makes it easy for the company to communicate with more than one person without wasting too much time or money.

They know that not all their clients are tech-savvy, so they put in lots of efforts into making their software easy-to-use. “We also know some of our clients may not have the best technology resources, so we keep all of that in mind and make sure they are able to use our software with little or no hitches at all,” he said.

Marketing

As a startup, they usually use affordable but effective means like social media channels, such as facebook, twitter and the company’s blog or website to get the outside world. This has proven to lead interested prospects to their doorsteps.

Successfully, Nandimobile, in the past three years, has signed up more than 315 businesses in Ghana ranging from local airlines such as, the US Embassy, Vodafone Ghana, Toyota Ghana, Hospitals and Churches.

Challenges

Their main challenge is growing their technical team because there are limited competent developers or experienced IT professionals to hire.

Edward said whereas some do not have the right exposure, others only learnt the theory bits in school, therefore, it is tough to get more people to recruit at their development department.

They have no regrets though as they see entrepreneurship as challenging and makes one learn the hard way. “We are happy with all the lessons we have picked up on our way,” he said.

“Also, knowing that something we built is solving a problem or making someone excited makes their work fun” he added.

They had an international award just seven months after they founded Nandimobile and have received others since then. “But more importantly it exciting to know big organisations are willing to talk to us to use our services. We never dreamt of ever doing business with such multinationals,” he added.

Outlook

Nandimobile aims to bridge the communication gap between Ghanaians and their banks, insurance companies, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority and other organisations they typically would want to communicate with periodically.

They look forward to grow the company and expand to other African countries facing similar challenges.

They advised the young generation to take advantage of the numerous challenges facing the African continent which provides a breeding ground for entrepreneurs. “If they combine their skills, they can solve a problem or two, and get paid for doing that,” he advised.

Education backgrounds

Edward attended Presbyterian Senior High, Legon, and University of Ghana, Accra . Anne Amuzu attended St. Louis Senior High and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology KNUST and Michael Dakwa attended Mfanstipim School and KNUST. They were all admitted into MEST to study Software Development and Entrepreneurship after national service.

By Ama Amankwa Baafi/Daily Graphic/Ghana
Writers email : ama.baafi@graphic.com.gh