What is Makanika Dot Com?
Makanika Dot Com is a Ugandan tech start-up. It is aiming at building a nation-wide network of garages to help Ugandan motorists get on-demand access to garages or mechanics and other service providers like spare part dealers, service stations, gas stations, vehicle towing/breakdown services, car accessories etc
Solution
In the recent years, Uganda has experienced a rapid growth in the automobile market, with automobile population more than doubling in the last decade.
This boom, of course, comes with an increasing demand for automobile services including repairs, services, car enhancements like sound and security. It is arguably true that the number of service providers has also tremendously grown.
However, finding a reliable one maybe hard as people keep complaining about dealing with crooks. Also, in case of emergency like a car breaking down on a long road trip or in the middle of the night, with no access to one’s regular provider e.g. mechanic, they may have no starting point. It is such challenges that they intend to solve.
Funding and Incubation
Makanika Dot Com is currently incubated at Hive Colab, a Kampala based a collaborative work space and innovation hub. From here, they are receiving mentor-ship and access to engineers.
So far, the only mode of funding is through Bootstrapping by the co-founders though the team is open to any form of external funding as they believe this will help them scale their operations.
Successes
The startup doesn't have much successes to it's belt though they believe being able to grow their network of mechanics from zero to 200 in just under 2 years is a great achievement. However, we were unable to prove if this number is true.
They also claim to have a good number of clients (which they declined to reveal) that they are currently working with.
Challenges
When asked about any challenges they have faced so far, the team says they haven't encountered any major challenges yet in their operations. Although they single out funding as as the main stumbling block to their efforts to scale as fast as possible.
Team Members
- Michael R. Katagaya - Co-founder
- Meregurwa Moses - Co-founder
My Thoughts
Makanika Dot Com is not a revolutionary idea. It is just another clone of the fast rising Uber-concept. I am not saying that the idea is bad, but they don't have much leverage.
All they need to do is execute flawlessly - yet my engagement with them led me to believe they are doing exactly the opposite. They're not yet good with their numbers - which should be the heart of any startup.
I don't think funding is their biggest challenge at all - what to use that funding for is. You can not run a pilot in Mbale when you haven't got a hold of Kampala.
They also need to have a centralized platform for people to submit their orders. Currently they use Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and phone calls. This is total confusion. These are supposed to be support avenues - not main.
In conclusion, if the team needs external funding, they have to more than double their efforts in terms of getting their figures right.