Nigeria - Startup under 3 years old

Describe your project or startup in a few words

Tracehut is developing a mobile app for young professionals in Nigeria seeking rental homes to choose standard apartments while avoiding problematic units with a database of verified tenant reviews enhanced by AI for sentiment and fraud analysis.

01.01 Describe your startup in more detail

Tracehut provides a mobile app that: - Allows current and past tenants to review apartments - Allows users to comment, share, and react to reviews - Calculate apartment ratings from reviews provided by tenants - Allows prospective tenants to check apartment ratings and reviews before commitment (at a fee)

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

Currently, property owners and managers are not held accountable for providing standard housing, leading to neglected maintenance, gender & ethnic discrimination, and a focus on profit over tenant well-being. As a result, tenants often pay high rents for substandard housing, facing issues such as health crises from poor sewage and plumbing, disconnection from the power grid due to accumulated bills, and increased risk of robbery and assault due to inadequate security measures. We are developing a system to publicly highlight these issues, enabling tenants to avoid substandard housing and encouraging property managers to make necessary improvements to attract tenants.

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

1. Prospective tenants can now avoid substandard apartments thereby promoting sustainable living 2. Property managers and owners now have to actively maintain proper housing standards to attract tenants 3. Gender and other forms of discrimination perpetrators among property owners and managers can now be easily identified and proper measures can now be taken by appropriate institutions to prevent widespread of such practices. 4. Tenants now have a voice that echoes loudly publicly which could deter managers and owners from negligence and other improper acts.

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

- Young professionals (aged 21-37, employed or business owners) - Prospective tenants (mostly repeat tenants) - mostly married with kids - can use apps on a smartphone, websites, and smart devices - Living in Nigeria

01.05 When was your company established?

2022-11-28

01.06 Are you already selling your product/service?

No

01.07 How many other owners are there within your startup?

1

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.)

Engr Samuel Kori is a seasoned Petroleum Engineering professional who has worked in several oilfields across the country. He is also a certified Project Management Professional and has undertaken project management roles where he delivered projects worth millions of dollars. He is skilled in leadership and teamwork, stakeholder management, negotiations, business planning and execution and organisational skills. He is a member of professional bodies like NSE, NAPE, SPE and COREN.

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

https://tracehut.com/

01.11 Which industry best describes your project?

k) Property (real estate)

02.01.01 My startup contributes to the No poverty goal

4

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification for my startup

none

02.02.01 My startup contributes to the Zero hunger goal

4

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification for my startup

none

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

6

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

Our app aims to connect people with well-maintained, high-standard homes. In Nigeria, the lack of ratings or publicly available data for homes leaves prospective tenants uninformed. Consequently, tenants often encounter issues like faulty plumbing, leading to water problems that can cause serious health risks such as malaria, cholera, and other waterborne diseases. Additional health hazards arise from poor sewage management, inadequate infrastructure, and the absence of proper electrical earthing systems. By offering this critical data to the public, we promote better health and well-being.

02.04.01 My startup contributes to the Quality education goal

4

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification for my startup

none

02.05.01 My startup contributes to the Gender equality goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification for my startup

We are strongly against property managers and owners not wanting to accept specific genders and minorities as tenants just because they are minorities. We have a special section on the app to identify and reach out to appropriate institutions regarding perpetrators of such acts. This is especially due to My sister being a victim of such where she had to go live in church for 2 weeks because most of the houses didn't want single females around her school until she got hostel accommodation in the school premises which was substantially more expensive.

02.06.01 My startup contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

5

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification for my startup

Our app aims to connect people with well-maintained, high-standard homes. In Nigeria, the lack of ratings or publicly available data for homes leaves prospective tenants uninformed. Consequently, tenants often encounter issues like faulty plumbing, leading to water problems that can cause serious health risks such as malaria, cholera, and other waterborne diseases. Additional health hazards arise from poor sewage management, inadequate infrastructure, and the absence of proper electrical earthing systems. By offering this critical data to the public, we promote clean water and sanitation.

02.07.01 My startup contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

4

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification for my startup

none

02.08.01 My startup contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

4

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification for my startup

none

02.09.01 My startup contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

4

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification for my startup

none

02.10.01 My startup contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

4

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification for my startup

none

02.11.01 My startup contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification for my startup

The widespread use of our app will compel residential apartment owners to address underlying issues, thereby improving living conditions and enhancing the efficiency of tenants in their various fields. When people live in uncomfortable homes, they experience stress, which subtly affects their decisions and leads to unnecessary expenses to manage their situation. This can result in health deterioration, noise pollution, and structural accidents, impacting their families negatively. Our app encourages tenants to seek better apartments and informs owners about why their properties are less frequented, prompting them to make necessary repairs. Additionally, tenants can insist on repairs before payment, creating a win-win situation for both parties.

02.12.01 My startup contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

4

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification for my startup

none

02.13.01 My startup contributes to the Climate action goal

4

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification for my startup

none

02.14.01 My startup contributes to the Life below water goal

4

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification for my startup

none

02.15.01 My startup contributes to the Life on land goal

4

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification for my startup

none

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

4

02.16.02 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions- Justification for my startup

none

02.17.01 My startup contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

4

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification for my startup

none

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

3

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

5

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

1 - Strongly Disagree

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

1 - Strongly Disagree

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

1 - Strongly Disagree

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.

1 - Strongly Disagree

06.08 Justification for my startup

Our idea is unique in that it is the only review platform focused on the residential rental market Niche in Africa. The only other player in the market is Google reviews in Nigeria and their primary users are the people visiting physical businesses such as restaurants, hotels, etc.

06.09 Competitive Analysis

Direct Competitor(s): - Google review: Our advantage here is being Niche specific, adding reviews Verification and AI for sentiment analysis among other subtle features for transparency. Indirect Competitors: - Apartment listing platforms like Propertypro, Nigeriapropertycenter, and privateproperty - Our advantage here is that we are the first movers in terms of rating apartments, and they also have no Verification or AI sentiment tools. their current business model of depending on agents and managers to list properties after payment is opposite to ours which depends on tenants to pay for extensive reviews search.

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

Yes, I am consciously favoring more female employees in new roles.