Nigeria - Startup under 3 years old

Describe your project or startup in a few words

VA-Africa specializes in helping busy business people reclaim 4 - 8 hours of their time daily so they can focus on core business tasks, devote more time to family, hobbies and other interests.

01.01 Describe your startup in more detail

VA-Africa specializes in helping busy business people reclaim 4 - 8 hours of their time daily so they can focus on core business tasks, devote more time to family, hobbies and other interests. We take over tasks such as data entry, research, customer service, email management, calendar scheduling, social media, and more, all customized to our client needs. Currently, we have over 500 vetted VAs on our waitlist waiting to be paired with clients. We're eager to expand our reach and help more businesses thrive. By leveraging our services, our clients not only streamline their operations but also contribute to alleviating unemployment challenges in Africa.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

My solution addresses two pressing issues: high unemployment rates in Africa and the challenges faced by professionals in the US, UK, and Canada. Africa struggles with alarmingly high unemployment, particularly in Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco, ranking among the top five globally (Nwachukwu, 2023). With the projected doubling of the young African population by 2050 (Ogunleye, 2023), there's a critical need to create employment opportunities beyond traditional workplaces. In the US, UK, and Canada, businesses grapple with rising energy costs, inflation, labor shortages, and high interest rates, exacerbated by global events like the Russia-Ukraine conflict. They are increasingly adopting remote work and outsourcing to reduce costs (US Chamber of Commerce, 2023; Office of National Statistics, 2023; Statistics Canada, 2023). Due to word count restraints, find the reference list here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WPP-XRXxnLNW-q3S5amcbCZNGK6AbrYk3on17keC4sg/edit?usp=sharing

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your startup provides (at least 3).

Ease: No sifting through countless applications. We match you with pre-vetted and ready to work virtual assistants (VAs). Cost Savings: No cost of recruiting staff. You avoid overhead costs of providing basic work infrastructure and other operations expenses. Flexibility: Our VAs work at the hours you choose. We provide personalized services tailoring VA teams to meet your needs. More Value: You get 2 VAs but pay for only 1. Our team-based model ensures quality and timely completion of projects. Comprehensive Services: We take over basically anything and everything that you want to take off your daily to-do list. Quality Assurance: No time wasted monitoring your VA. We do the monitoring. Seamless Working: No service disruptions. We offer quick replacements should your VA call in sick. Reduced Workload, Improved Productivity and Work-life Balance: Delegating tasks to your VA gives you a lighter work schedule. The reclaimed time can be used for core work and other non-work interests.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your startup’s product/service is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

My targeted beneficiaries are busy business owners or professionals seeking to outsource portions of their daily to-dos, operations or delegate their admin tasks. Those that fit this description include: solopreneurs, startup founders, ecommerce business owners, podcasters, writers, executive coaches, speakers etc.

01.05 When was your company established?

2023-06-08

01.06 Are you already selling your product/service?

Yes

01.07 How many other owners are there within your startup?

0

01.08 Among the other owners, how many are female?

0

01.09 Please describe the profile of the other owners within your startup (skills, experience, etc.)

Not Applicable

01.10 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link(s) here:

https://va-africa.com

01.11 Which industry best describes your project?

Other: Virtual Assistance and Administrative Support Services

02.01.01 My startup contributes to the No poverty goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification for my startup

Poverty is not only about not having enough money to cater for basic necessities. It could be poverty of time - not having enough time for core work, family events and leisurely activities. My startup contributes to solving all of these kinds of poverty. By providing remote sources of employment, VA-Africa would enable her virtual assistants to cater for themselves and their households. By taking over the time-consuming administrative tasks of business owners and professionals, the same enjoy a lighter work load and are afforded the opportunity to focus their core energies on core business tasks and other non-work interests.

02.02.01 My startup contributes to the Zero hunger goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification for my startup

VA-Africa would contribute to zero hunger in this guise. By providing remote sources of work to people in underprivileged places, those people are empowered with funds to provide food for themselves and their dependants.

02.03.01 My startup contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

5

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification for my startup

There can't be good health and well-being without good food. There can't be good food without money. There can't be money without a good and stable means of employment. In the same vein, there can't be good health and well-being when one is overloaded with work, stressed and burnt out. VA-Africa contributes to solving both by providing employment to those who would lighten the work load of busy business people so both can enjoy the different forms of good health and well being.

02.04.01 My startup contributes to the Quality education goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification for my startup

I strongly believe in lifelong learning. No one is an epitome of knowledge. Things keep changing and one needs to continually stay abreast. It is for this reason that VA-Africa is invested in providing opportunities for learning, upskilling and personal development to all virtual assistants.

02.05.01 My startup contributes to the Gender equality goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification for my startup

I strongly believe in the equality of genders. At VA-Africa, there is no discrimination of any kind, be it demographic or socioeconomic.

02.06.01 My startup contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

4

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification for my startup

02.07.01 My startup contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

5

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification for my startup

Though, not compulsorily, we encourage our virtual assistant to utilize solar power generators as against the use of fossil fuel engines which not only cause noise pollution but emit global warming-causing green house gases.

02.08.01 My startup contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

7 - Strongly Agree

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification for my startup

VA-Africa provides remote jobs to Africans and other peoples by design. Our virtual assistants are employed as contractors so they get to individually file their taxes with their respective governments and to some extent increase economic growth.

02.09.01 My startup contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

7 - Strongly Agree

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification for my startup

Our services allow service businesses to discard traditional office fronts with it's costly overhead set up costs and attributed operations expenses. They can have a virtual team serve as office support.

02.10.01 My startup contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification for my startup

Africans do not have to flee overseas in search for greener pastures. They can gain access to decent remote work opportunities provided by VA-Africa. This way the inequality in income distribution is to some extent abated.

02.11.01 My startup contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

5

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification for my startup

For cities and communities to be sustainable, it means that environmental resources are to be carefully used without negating the ability of future generations to use them. VA-Africa's services being virtual in nature saves duplicity in costs which in turn reduces consumption of environmental resources and brings about sustainability.

02.12.01 My startup contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

5

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification for my startup

For consumption and production to be responsible, it means there is no wastage and the carbon footprint is minimized to a large extent. As earlier mentioned, at VA-Africa, we would advise our virtual assistants to preferentially utilize solar generators or energy efficient fossil-fuel generators which ensure zero or lower carbon emissions as electricity source.

02.13.01 My startup contributes to the Climate action goal

5

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification for my startup

Virtual assistants work remotely at home. Since there would be no commuting to and fro a traditional workplace, environmental resources would be saved that way and the amount of CO2 emitted by such an individual is reduced.

02.14.01 My startup contributes to the Life below water goal

4

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification for my startup

02.15.01 My startup contributes to the Life on land goal

4

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification for my startup

02.16.01 My startup contributes to the Peace Justice and Strong Institutions goal

5

02.16.02 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions- Justification for my startup

By providing decent remote job opportunities, the quest to travel overseas in search of greener pastures would be reduced to some extent.

02.17.01 My startup contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

5

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification for my startup

The provision of decent work opportunities would allow for sustainable development of developing economies.

06.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

7 - Strongly Agree

06.02 The product/service represents an entirely new type of product/service.

1 - Strongly Disagree

06.03 The product/service could be described as a new technology.

3

06.04 The product/service is an improvement on an existing product or service.

5

06.05 The product/service could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

5

06.06 The product/service responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

5

06.07 The product/service is a new version of an old product/service.

4

06.08 Justification for my startup

The work of a virtual assistant is not entirely new. Virtual Assistants fill the role of a secretary, receptionist and frontdesk executive in a traditional office workplace setting. The only difference is that virtual assistants perform their duties remotely. They work as contractors and not as employees. In terms of innovation, our work is not novel. There are very similar existing solutions. However, for the African continent, we are one of the first to play in the international space and seek overseas companies to outsource work to Africans.

06.09 Competitive Analysis

VA-Africa competes with various entities in the virtual assistant space: Our competitors include: 1. Freelancing platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr, Truelancer, Freelancer etc. on whose platforms clients could hire virtual assistants. 2. Traditional admin staff such as Executive Assistants, Office Support etc. whose mode of work is either physical or hybrid. Recruitment platforms where one could get traditional admin staff include: Glassdoor, Onlinejobs.ph, Indeed etc. 3. Independent single-person Virtual Assistants who have a website or leverage social media platforms to market themselves. 4. Agency-type Virtual Assistants such as Time Etc, VA-UK, Belay, Fancy Hands, Zirtual, FAVA, Remote Latinos, Cyber Backers etc. who offer similar solutions as VA-Africa. We stand out from our competitors by our team-based model, quality assurance processes and the feedback mechanisms we employ with which we learn how to best serve our clients and exceed their expectations.

11.05 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

Yes. I often share training opportunities, calls for grant funding and accelerator programs to female entrepreneurs within my network.