The logistics market in Nigeria is entirely focused on delivery services. But there is more to the industry than delivery that has a market valuation of over ₦250 billion. In line with this, a vital slice of the logistics sector that is yet to be fully tapped is running errands on behalf of others. The probable reason for this is the total lack of trust in whoever is running the errands. Selbolt, an errand service platform is asking you to trust them with your errands. The startup founded in 2021 will execute the errands with its vetted taskers. Enough said, let the CEO of Selbolt, Ifeoluwa Jaiyeola, continue. She tells Innovation-village in this exclusive interview about the startup’s value proposition, how it is building a network of reputable taskers, and more. Excerpts
Can you tell us about Selbolt?
Selbolt is a decentralized peer-peer errand-task outsourcing platform; a redefined Errand Service platform. It’s a platform that provides users with on-demand taskers that can help them execute their errand tasks. It helps people constrained by time and location to outsource their errand tasks and assignments to others who are available for tasks to be done and carried out. A user based in Nigeria can execute a task in Ghana without having to travel all the way there, thus saving time, effort, and resources. Selbolt is building a flexible, on-demand network of freelance, professional, and vetted “taskers” to allow customers to manage tasks and errands across every town, city, state, and country all over the world.
It’s disruptive innovation. We’re redefining the logistics industry and going beyond delivery services. People naturally find themselves multi-tasking and they know they can’t be everywhere at the same time. For instance, Amaka, a busy entrepreneur based in Delta state, who has to physically submit some paper documents at a University in Abuja would simply outsource the task digitally to a trusted tasker already staying in Abuja to get it done for her.
A far better option compared to traveling all the way to Abuja just to submit those documents. The tasker is also paid for their service and everyone leaves happy.
What is the value proposition of Selbolt?
With the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, we all could do with getting some extra hands to run our errands and relieve us of another task on our to-do list. With digitization on our side, we are building a mobile marketplace to meet the needs of the average busy man thus creating jobs for millions of unemployed Nigerians with Selbolt.
Nigeria is still largely an artisan economy, and we are going to the common grassroot, beyond craftsmanship skills, but also towards an innate skill we learned from our parents while growing up, which is Running Errands and Executing Tasks Outsourced to us by Elders or Seniors. By helping people execute their minor and major tasks, anyone can become a microentrepreneur and get paid for their services.
Your website says “we are building Nigeria’s largest remote errand task outsourcing platform.” How do you plan to achieve this considering the many competitions?
The logistics market is one of the fastest-growing industries in Nigeria with a market valuation of over 250 billion naira. Selbolt’s process is decentralizing that massive industry into the hands of the average hardworking person; who is well experienced with running errands.
Logistic bike services in Nigeria focus on just deliveries: pick and drop. Selbolt goes beyond that. Selbolt is dispersing that system to include certain kinds of everyday tasks and errands that traditional logistic services can not implement.
Also, Logistics bikers are mainly intra-states and are dependent on long-distance transportation. A peer-peer platform like Selbolt eliminates that form of transportation. A user on selbolt can task anyone in every town, state, the country around the world. We have a few Indians and Americans on our platform and we are onboarding more of them. Our users can directly task someone in India or the US to go about an admission process for you in a selected school. Or a Kaduna indigene can simply task someone in Onitsha or Aba to shop for certain items and send them over to Kaduna. The difference is the intersection created between logistics and everyday lifestyle reaching needs that logistics-based services cannot meet.
Trust is a big problem on both the client-side and the tasker’s side. What measures has Selbolt put in place to ensure the safety of taskers and also ensuring that taskers deliver the best quality job?
A strong legal verification system as well as a thorough vetting process, thanks to the compulsory NIN implementation in the country and the proof of address system. We also have a rating and review system in place for new users to know how a tasker has performed over time. We assure our users that payments will only be disbursed through the platform to the taskers only after they’ve been rated well by them to full satisfaction. Taskers get paid after users’ confirmation and rating.
How will you describe the traction and reception of Selbolt so far? What are your plans to scale?
In the course of our vetting process, we read through a series of interview answers by the taskers that helped us see the impact of what we are building. Each person gave reasons why the platform was ideal and needed, explaining key situations and past experiences in their lives that would have needed a platform like this. Family incomes, daily food, student tuition fees, single parents, busy parents, parents who sold their lands to survive, dropouts, are all depending on Selbolt for a sole or extra source of their livelihood. It is such an honour to see users believing in what we are building.
We received massive responses across different countries, gender, social class, age, strata. The occupation of our taskers signing up on our platform ranges from managing directors, heads of products, experienced Managers, procurement officers to different young people with different backgrounds including undergraduates, graduates, masters and even doctorate degree holders. This was surprising to see! Selbolt is bringing the world into one global hospitality village, where we promote service, hard work, honesty, and trustworthiness.
At this moment, we have gained users from across Nigeria, Ghana, UK, India, and US. We are taking steps towards building a strong marketplace in these geographical locations and in more places around the world.
Capital and funds are key to starting a business? How did Selbolt deal with this challenge?
To this point, Selbolt has operated fully bootstrapped. However, to achieve the extent of reach we are looking forward to, we are considering other options of funding between this year and next.
Many startups fail in their first five years. What measures is Selbolt enshrining to ensure that it’s here in the next five, 10 and 20 years?
In the rise of the sharing economy, platforms like this tend to be traditionally relevant and important to users. Taskers have demonstrated loyalty to Selbolt. They identify with our vision. The reception toward Selbolt has validated that this is the right timing for disruptive innovation like this.
Remaining relevant to meeting customers’ needs is key to remaining for the long term. By running and executing errand tasks outsourced to Selbolt, Nigerians will execute tasks for foreigners increasing the landscape of where their services can be reached thus directly impacting their earning capacity.
We have a strong team on the ground, a team of people with a shared background and that has helped us work together from a place of trust, authenticity, and genuinity. Spending the last five years in the same tertiary institution has embedded in us a similar culture and sense of values.
With a product that meets users’ needs, a team capable of adapting through different changes, and a clear plan towards generating revenues and accessing funding, we’re equipped with all we need to thrive in this journey.
What are the challenges of running Selbolt? What are the future plans?
Funding. With everything we are set out to do, a lot of our processes have been limited by financial constraints. In the short term, we are focused on moving with the already existing traction, building a reputation of trust and reliability, accessing investors, and onboarding more users.
What advice do you have for budding entrepreneurs?
Step out. There are diverse untapped opportunities to innovate new processes, transform the dynamics of already existing industries, and solve problems in Africa and beyond.
