Nigerian made Mobile app AirCharge enables airtime purchases utilizing barcodes.
Developed by Orji Joseph, founder of Braintech in 2018, AirCharge is an app that enables users to load airtime pins without the stress of typing out the pins.
BrainsTECH, on the other hand, is a software development company, focused on providing TECH solutions to industries and for individuals, through development and building of innovative apps for both mobile, desktop and web.
Revealing the motivation behind AirCharge in a chat with Innovation Village, Orji said, “The inspiration came from the stress of typing out recharge card pins before loading and how hectic that is. So I thought about how to make it easier and to also curb errors too.“And I also noticed how many mobile apps are adopting barcode technology, so I thought it’d be a great idea to try it.”
Orji also said that the app is unique because telecom services are yet to adopt or advance to this technology, which he believes customers will very much appreciate.
Speaking on how the app works he said, “Basically customers will purchase recharge cards which will now have barcodes instead of recharge pin, they open the app and scan the barcode and the app recharges their phone instantly.”
On traction, recently, Orji made a post on his work on Twitter (@vviAce_) and consequently received great acceptance garnering over 8,000 retweets and over 4000 likes.
“Recently I posted it online and the reaction has been massive, but because I was not sure about how people will receive it, it’s not yet available on Play store. “ But I have it installed on my phone. The BUSINESS model is to start a recharge card company (retail/wholesale) that will only use the barcode technology for their cards,” Orji said.
The founder also revealed that electricity was the major challenge while working on AirCharge hence, he had to utilize a generator most of the time.
His counsel for young entrepreneurs and startups like himself, “My advice is to keep solving problem with your products, no matter how small the problem is, start with whatever you have and launch your product. It doesn’t matter if it is 100% ready or not someone out there needs whatever you’re offering.”
Speaking on the future for AirCharge, Orji said, “for now I am still gathering reviews from people, with time I will remove irrelevant functionalities and improve the product so that it can last long in the market, for BrainsTECH as a company all I can say is we will build amazing things and positively impact African and the world, one line of code at a time.”
Sharing his thoughts on the Nigerian startup ecosystem, he said, “it is promising but a lot more can be done, so many talented people and not enough resources. But it’s very promising and with time it will be bigger than what it is.”
