Lagos-based online real estate marketplace Hutbay, which allow buyers, sellers, renters and real estate agents to find and share information, has launched a new service allowing movers to get and compare quotes from removal companies and rate them online. This way, finding the right Hire Movers for you has been made easier than ever!
Launched in 2013, Hutbay currently has over 1,400 agents on its platform, with over 5,000 listings. Disrupt Africa reported last week it was one of four startups pitching at the iDEA Nigeria demo day in Lagos.
The startup has now launched Hutbay Movers, which it says is similar to a directory of moving companies apart from the fact it is dedicated to moving companies and connecting movers with those who are about to move. Hutbay said it comes with custom pages for moving companies, allowing users to know more about each company, and provides tools to request a quote and review a mover.
“Hutbay Movers is bringing transparency to a sector that has been, as it were, hidden from the public view. We are making moving as easy as booking an hotel or a flight,” Hutbay said.
Hutbay, which makes money by charging referral fees, said until now there has been no dedicated platform in Nigeria for moving companies to connect with people or businesses about to move.
“You’d search internet directories or the Yellow Pages to look up movers and then you start calling each mover. This is a laborious process as, each time, you’d have to tell them your address, list the valuables you are moving, the date you want to move, et cetera, and hopefully get a quote. You spend lots of time and money for little or no result,” the startup said.
“For the above reasons, most people who have moved using traditional methods end up calling and dealing with only one mover and, most times, end up overpaying for less-than-professional service. There is even no way to warn the general public of a bad mover or recommend a good one.”
Hutbay said the next iteration of Hutbay Movers will include improvements based on feedback, while also allowing consumers use a map to find movers. It will also be responsive to mobile, while a dedicated mobile app will also be rolled out.
“The benefits to movers are huge. Apart from the exposure that Hutbay provides for its movers, they will also get more quality leads than before. Hutbay pre-verifies every lead by phone and email verification. So, in exchange for a referral fee, Hutbay does marketing and exposure and get movers quality leads.”
