Nigerian startup Hovatek is positioning itself as the online hub for tech support in Africa, and is planning further additions to its product line in 2018.
Launched in 2012, Hovatek is an online technical support platform where any device user can easily and conveniently get solutions and answers to problems and questions.
It provides detailed tutorials and videos spanning many common device issues which its visitors can easily follow. When a user encounters difficulty finding or following a tutorial, it also has a support team available to help via instant messaging services and a forum.
“What this means is that you can get your device problems resolved from the comfort of wherever you are without necessarily needing to pay or spend anything other than your internet data. We are bringing education and convenience into a secretive and exploitative device repair niche,” co-founder Bodunrin Yekini told Disrupt Africa.
“More people are having device problems which they want convenient, quick and affordable solutions to. Fewer people want to spend hours in traffic only to queue at a repair centre. More people want to know how to utilise their devices and go ahead to run online searches hoping to find answers. This is where Hovatek comes in.”
While we Hovatek does have a paid private support option, all its tutorials and videos are freely accessible with representatives available to provide online assistance.
“I’m pretty certain you have at some point or another encountered a shady repair service which cost you an arm and a leg for an issue you suspect shouldn’t cost so much money or time to fix but couldn’t argue “because they’re the experts”. Hovatek is an ideal platform for a novice to learn a thing or two about his or her device ahead of such encounters,” Yekini said.
The startup has built up a global user base, in spite of never having received any form of external funding. It has big plans for 2018, and is most notably working on a pickup and delivery repairs service.
“The reception of our service has been spectacular. We are seeing more people wanting to consult someone online first to get the hang of the issue and try suggestions before visiting a repair outfit,” said Yekini.
“We handle over 700 one-on-one interactions daily. This number excludes the vast majority of people who find our tutorials via organic search or social media and are able to resolve their issues without interacting with staff.”
The startup’s aim is to be the number one free online tech support platform in Africa and provide support in more languages other than English.
