NIFULIE

In a bid to eradicate poverty the software application provides employment by expanding the traditional hand-washing laundry business by increasing supply and demand of the services.The hand-washing laundry service at the moment is dominated by women who only access the opportunity by waiting around people's homes hoping to be employed.The software intends to bring more women-including those who might have been against hanging around people's homes-on board and the youth as well,by giving them easy access to the customers through the phone and the internet. It is a plus also for the customer as the services are easily accessible on the phone.

Globally, it solves the unemployment issue.This idea can also be extrapolated to other informal sectors, in a bid to expand their supply and demand scope.

Unemployed women and the youth are marginalized and because of the unemployment have minimal to no access to privileges like medical insurance.Using the application to create employment for themselves,they can have an income and access the module of the software that enables them to make small contributions to the Kenyan National Insurance Health Fund (NHIF) and track those contributions as well.The small contributions aggregate to the monthly contribution required.This enables them to access what was initially not accessible to them.

It being that there are no formalized channel directing their skills to the people needing them, the application formalizes it and the door to door task of seeking employment is more or less eliminated.

Lack of formal employment has made people turn to informal employment.According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics the country has a large and burgeoning informal sector, which generated 83.6% of total employment in 2018. Hence, we are tapping into this large number by creating a formal platform, which is easy to access, and in an area that has been especially ignored.

Nifulie is a business that aims at solving the laundry problem that arises in lower-middle-class households in most of the Kenyan towns. It utilizes a software that uses google maps to locate the service providers.The software is integrated with a mobile money platform hosted by a local mobile service provider which allows transfer of payments to the service provider and the business to the customer.

It is also integrated with the National Health Insurance Fund to enable contributions to the fund.

It is also integrated with Google mail to forward customers feedback to the business for further improvement.

It is Android-based and with time can be availed to apple as well.

For the verification process, Nifulie uses the national police service database to confirm the details of the service provider are indeed true.

The target population are women and youth whom we intend to provide employment to.

The lower-middle-class households who cannot afford washing machines, a full-time housekeeper or are working in full time jobs. Hence, providing a cheaper and easily accessible alternative.

We have conducted surveys, where we have personally interviewed random women who supply the service. Also, through personal experience and views gathered from friends and relatives, we have identified the need for an easily accessible and convenient solution to the laundry problem.

For the women who have been supplying the service,the application provides more customers.The application shows the customers the service providers within a five kilometre radius which means the service providers can cast a wider net as opposed to the limited opportunities they have had before.

The customers on the other hand have the ability to access the services at the convenience of their homes.Since the application standardizes the fee to be charged to the customer, it introduces fairness,predictability and consistency to the transactions.

The application grants the marginalized, in our case, women and the youth,the access to a self-employment platform. They can use this platform to earn money and a good reputation for themselves by providing quality services that ensures that they will be employed frequently to create sustainability in their lives. The rating facility on the application, intends to secure service providers who give high quality services a continuous stream of income.

It introduces aspects that were not there in the informal sector. There exists an application to link informal workers; and in this case, cleaners. However, they only clean office spaces. By making the charges per bucket and not per task, also makes remuneration fair to the service provider. As it is, the bargaining power is always given to the customer. The service provider, because of desperation, will  accept.

It being that the service provider is within a five kilometre radius, the convenience of both parties has been considered. Small amounts like bus fare and/or motorbike fare are usually not affordable to these people. Hence, the cost will be as little as possible to get to the place of work thereby maximizing the savings.

Water at the spot being factored in the transaction, and this knowledge being shared with the service provider, reduces disagreements.

There is the inclusion of a module that enables the service providers to contribute to the National Medical Fund (NHIF) and also track their payments. Such a facility has not been in existent in the informal sector. First, this encourages the service providers to have this insurance despite jobs not being there constantly. Having a formal job in Kenya, almost always guarantees that the employer contributes to the fund on your behalf. In the informal sector, contributions are made by the individual. Hence, It affords the Nifulie service providers a privilege that they never had before.

The fact that it is hosted by google play store makes the application accessible to anyone with an android-based phone.

Our technology connects the service provider to the customer who needs the service by exploiting the google maps service which helps in locating the service provider.

It also relies on mobile money transfer to generate revenue streams to the business as payments are via mobile money transfer.

The medical insurance platform leverages on technology. The contributions and tracking are made possible by the mobile money transfer.

Feedback from the customer which is critical in business improvement, is made possible by google mail.

Because of the existence of technology, one can verify the documents given the service provider.

Uber revolutionized the taxi business and transport business as a whole.They use the same concept of google maps to locate the customer and driver.

It takes into account convenience as well as reliability. it estimates the ride charges just as our application which estimates the workload.

It has a rating platform which is useful for collecting customer feedback as well as motivating the drivers to get a five star rating so as to be able to access the perks good ratings afford you. The comment section acts as survey which helps us collect information that leads to the improvement of the business.

The safety aspect has been taken into consideration because details of both parties can be traced in case of crime.

Activity -Link customer with service provider Output -service delivery -earning of money by service provider. -earning revenue for Nifulie business Short term outcome -the customer saves time for other things by quickly accessing the service through his phone. -the customer gets the service at an affordable rate and can allocate their money to other needs. -the youth and the women get to earn money. -the business earns revenue. -the service provider does not have to hang around people’s homes and can be accessed through his/her phone Mid-term outcome -The customers with clean clothes takes care of his hygiene. -the youth and the women can meet some of their needs -the youth and the women can contribute to their medical insurance fund. -the youth are kept busy and off from idling in the streets. -happiness at home as a result of the earning parties meeting their needs. -Revenue streams to the business are taxed. -More time available for the women to focus on their families as they await for their services to be requested. Long term outcome -The customer improves his health by avoiding skin diseases that come with wearing unclean clothes. -The youth and the women are saved from the biting poverty that comes with unemployment. -The health of the youth and women is improved by the medical fund which they can access in case of sickness. -Crime is reduced by the fact youth are busy and have some money in the pockets. -Prostitution is reduced because the women and the young females have an accessible alternative to earning a living. -A more cohesive society because of happy homes. -The country increases its revenue streams in terms taxes and improves the standards of living for the citizens.

The informal sector makes up 83.6% of Kenya's workforce. We seek to tap into this large market. Our application being in the prototype stage, we have no current active people we are serving. However, with corona having reduced employment rate, the number of users and interested parties is projected to increase.

In a years time: within two months, we are expected to have 500 users. Hence, in a year's time we expect, if the factors are kept constant the numbers will be 3000 users in a year.

In five years time, if we get enough funding and services are improved based on the feedback we receive from registered customers, we expect to be above 15,000 users.

One year: within one year, all service providers can afford the national medical insurance contribution.

Five years: 

Use our platform, to reach more women and youth.

Create more modules within the software that enables them to contribute towards other meaningful causes like a retirement benefits scheme.

Covid: The security aspect of the transaction.Given that the transaction is conducted in the customers space, it makes the two parties vulnerable.

Ensuring that the service providers are regularly tested  and some form of certification given and indicated in the application so that the customers are guaranteed safety is the main challenge we are facing. This challenge is both long term and short term, because we do not know how long the virus will last and any developments on it which may complicate the current situation further.

For our application to fully meet its potential, we have to have an office space. This will act as a central place for operations. The documents need verification and sometimes vetting is required. We do not have the funds to accommodate employees nor lease a space. This is a one year challenge.

The service providers are mostly low income earners. One may find an instance where there's a willing service provider but lacks the medium. (the medium being the phone). To fund people even on loans where they pay for the device in small installments would make the platform increase on its' supply bit. This is both long term and short term. 

The best form of training has to be  every 6 months for it to be effective.The training resources has to match the population of the trainees. We expect that with increased registration of the service providers, the more resources required for effective training. This is both long term and short term.

If we establish nifulie centers, they can be used as testing locations for covid-19 for the service providers. This information can be updated on their profiles. To protect them further, and also the customer. We provide masks and sanitizers as well to the service providers.

With funding, that has enabled us to have the nifulie centers, those too can be used as offices.

Resources; The human resource needed for training has to be remunerated. Seeking out opportunities that will facilitate this.

Currently, three people.

Full time staff- 2

Part time- 1

Our team consists of a developer, who is a qualified programmer. His coding skills have enabled us have a working prototype of the application based on the requirements presented to him.

We have a trained lawyer who helps us interpret the legal landscape. She helps us not contravene any existing laws as well as in the copyright process of the application in a bid to protect our intellectual property. Even for the future modules we incorporate we will still consult her.

An MBA Holder-Strategic Management who helps us formulate business strategies, that would be best suited for what we intend to implement.

Together we complement each other and enable our idea grow into what it is .

Safaricom: for the mobile money service.

Value proportion. Nifulie business makes the hand-washing laundry services available to customers via the Nifulie application. Traditionally, hand-washing laundry services have been provided by women who hang around people's homes hoping to be employed. The application seeks to eliminate the need to have them wait around people's homes and make them accessible to the customers with more ease and convenience. The application also enables the service providers to cast a wider net. This is because the application searches for the service provider within a distance of five kilometre radius from the customer's residence. This application will also widen the scope of suppliers because it will include both genders and the youth. The demand scope will increase because the application seeks to provide ease of access to the service providers by the customers. Customer segment The customers targeted are the working lower-middle-income earners who cannot afford washing machines and a full-time house-keeper. The services are made affordable to them and they can predetermine the fees to be charged to them beforehand. This makes it easy for them to budget for the service.

Currently, we have used our savings as well as contributions from friends and families.

In future, we intend to fund our operations, using revenue streams coming from our commissions from the transactions. 

We hope to secure grants, to expand our operations.

COSTS OF STORAGE AND MAINTAINING THE DATA.

SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE SOFTWARE.

COST OF TRAINING THE SERVICE PROVIDERS.

COSTS OF ADVERTISING NIFULIE.

Cost of data it being that the service providers are poor. We need a subsidized plan so that they can access the platform.

Other skilled programmers can enhance our application. 

To better our business model

The service providers in our business are predominantly women. As much as we target the youth to expand the scope of supply, the bulk of them are women.Hence, we are giving them a platform that formalizes an informal contract, an earning platform as well as an opportunity to contribute to a medical insurance fund.

The services provided depend on interpersonal skills. That is why, the training offered by nifulie to service providers, is geared towards empowering them with social skills like emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence as a social skill applies to every other industry. With these skills they are better positioned to access well-paying jobs in a changing marketplace.

Our database will hold unemployed women and youth. Partly why they are unemployed, is because of their low literacy levels. Hence, any opportunities to increase the literacy levels of these population, we are best positioned to effect it, as we have their information.

1. Value Proposition Nifulie is Swahili for 'wash for me'. Nifulie is a business that aims at solving the laundry problem that arises in lower-middle-class households in most of the Kenyan towns. These households cannot afford washing machines and most of them cannot afford a house-keeper. Given that they have to go to work and do not have a lot of free time to wash their clothes, they do not have a ready solution for their laundry problem. Laundry businesses exist but their charges are expensive and it is impossible for a household to constantly engage them for its laundry needs. Because of this, households turn to hand-washing services provided by women. These women are unemployed and so they linger around people's homes hoping that their services will be employed. Their services are cheaper compared to the laundry businesses. It is this human resource scope that Nifulie wishes to tap into and expand. Nifulie wishes to include the unemployed youth into this scope thereby expanding the supply scope. The gender bias that exists in the nature of the business, given that the service providers are predominantly women, will also be eliminated. Nifulie also wishes to expand the demand scope by making the hand-washing laundry services available to everyone and anyone who wishes to access them with ease. This will be made possible by the Nifulie phone application that wishes to register women and the youth wishing to provide the hand-washing services without the inconvenience of having to wait outside people's homes. The application provides a module for contributing to the national medical fund. The national health insurance fund (NHIF) requires an individual to contribute an amount of five hundred shillings monthly. This amount is not affordable to everyone. This application enables the service providers to contribute small amounts to NHIF and track those amounts till they reach the required five hundred shillings within a month's time. The application will also register customers who wish to employ the hand-washing services. Through the Nifulie phone application the laundry service providers can be accessed by the customers with ease as long as they are five kilometers within the customer's Nifulie residence. This introduces flexibility and convenience given that the service is a click away. To assess the convenience of the task involved by the service provider, the customer shall indicate whether the water for washing is available at the washing spot or not. It is a fact that most households do not have water immediately available at the washing area. In that case the application enables the person requesting for the service to indicate so. Getting this information before hand is an advantage to both parties because it eliminates the possibility of disagreements. Washing one 20-litre bucket of clothes shall attract a fee of Kshs 150.00 (USD 1.50) if water is available at the washing spot. That is to say if you have two bucket loads of clothes, you will then be required to pay Kshs.300.00 (USD 3.00). If on the other hand, the water is not available at the washing spot and the service provider is required to fetch it. Then one 20-litre bucket of clothes shall attract an additional Kshs. 50.00.That is to say if you have two bucket loads of clothes, you will then be required to pay Kshs.400.00 This standardizes the fee regardless of where you are in the country. This feature is not there in existing transactions and might be exposing either party to exploitation. 2. Customer Segment The lower middle-class households are the primary target. These households can afford the hand-washing services and they constitute the second biggest segment after the lower class in terms of population. In most towns these households can be found with ease because many of them are clustered in specific areas. Intense advertising should be done in these areas to target the customers. 3. Channel The business exploits a virtual platform; the Nifulie application. This application has two sections: a).The Fua section(Fua is Swahili for 'wash for').This the service provider's part of the application. It is where they register and subsequently log into the app. In this section they are introduced to terms and conditions to which they must agree with to proceed. They are then made to submit the following: -their name -e-mail address -phone number -their gender -national identity number -scanned copy of their certificate of good conduct. Upon acceptance of the submitted documents, the software will generate a unique code to identify each service provider uniquely. The national identity number and the certificate of good conduct are to enhance security; this is to avoid registering people who have had criminal records. b).The Fuliwa section (Fuliwa is Swahili for 'wash for me').This is the customer's part of the application. It is where they register and subsequently log into the app. In this section they are introduced to the terms and conditions and if they agree to them they are made to submit the following: -their name -their email address -their phone number. This section enables the application to detect the location of the customer once the location feature is activated. When they search for the service-provider available, the application searches within a five kilometers radius from the customer's location. The application picks the service-provider nearest to the customer. The following details of the service provider are visible at the customer's end: -their name -their ID number -scanned copy of certificate of good conduct. -their gender In this section they are also in a position to indicate the size of laundry and whether they have water available at the washing spot or whether the water is to be fetched. Both factors are important in the pricing of the service. 4. Customer Relations. This is the process involved in getting the customers, keeping the customers and growing of the customers. Nifulie wishes to approach vernacular radio stations and television stations for advertising. Social media platforms like Facebook and twitter will also be exploited. Print media will also be tapped into for advertising.

To keep the customers, the application will have a rating section where stars will be used for assessment of the satisfaction of the customer. A five-star rating will indicate full satisfaction of the customer while a single star will indicate dissatisfaction. Below the rating section, the application will provide a comment section which will allow brief commentary of the customer's experience. Follow-ups will be made for improvement of the service. Service providers getting a single star three consecutive times will be deregistered. Programmes for training will be put in place to equip the service providers with communication skills and emotional intelligence skills. Service providers getting five star recommendations will be rewarded every end of year to further motivate them.

To grow the customer base, aggressive advertising will be done and adjustments made to the application and the hand-washing services based on feedback, all with the view to further improve the customer experience. 5.  Revenue Streams. An amount of Kshs. 20.00 shall be paid by the customer for use of the application. The customer is not able to view the phone number of the service provider and is only allowed to do so after making a payment of Kshs 20.00 The payments shall be done via a mobile money transfer facility called Lipa na Mpesa that will be integrated with the application. The payment will be made under the unique code that identifies each service provider. Upon making the payment, the application reveals the phone number of the service provider to the customer and now they can communicate. Kshs. 10.00 shall be paid by the service provider upon completion of the transaction. Failure for the service provider to make the Kshs. 10.00 payment leads to them not being able to access the application again. They will have a negative payment record which locks them out of the system until the payment is updated. 6. Partners. Nifulie will partner with Safaricom which is a local mobile service provider in the country. Nifulie wishes to exploit the mobile money facility to carry out the transactions. Future possible partnerships with the same company and other local mobile service providers, will be considered with the view of having subsidized costs of data bundles. The business being internet-driven and given the fact that the service providers are unemployed, requires that the data bundles for internet access be affordable. Other partnerships to be considered would be with companies willing to provide cheap smart phones to the service providers. These phones can be provided in form of loans to the service providers. The terms and conditions would be clearly stipulated. Banks could also be partnered with to raise money for establishing Nifulie centers. These will serve as training stations for the service providers and also as verification centers for their relevant documents. The same money will be used to cater for the costs of data storage and maintenance and any other costs that arise during business. 7. Resources The software application has been copyrighted by the Kenyan government. Other intellectual properties required will be applied for to further protect the application. Other resources required will include a data storage and maintenance platform-leased or owned by the company. Human resource will also be required for verification of the service providers' documents and training of the service providers. Software support maintenance and future improvement is also a necessity to avoid downtimes and other inconveniences to the customers.  Physical addresses will be required to be rented for the training purposes. Given the novel CO-VID19 virus global situation, test kits, temperature guns, sanitizers and liquid soaps at the Nifulie centers will be a necessity 8.Activities. The key activities in the Nifulie business are the following. a).Training of the service providers.

b).Verification of their certificates of good conduct to ensure that they do not have criminal records. c).Analyzing the ratings data collected by the software. d).Going through the comments to get a better view of how the customers feel about the service. e).Come up with better structures based on the evaluation of ratings and comments in order to better the service. f).Support, maintaining and improving the software to make sure that it is best fit for the purpose it is intended for. 9. Costs. The costs of the resources and the activities highlighted above and the costs of partnering with other stakeholders shall be considered. Fixed costs and variable costs arising in the course of doing business shall also be considered as the business is on-going.