[Interview] Josh Okpata, Founder and CEO, Eazyhire, Nigeria
Josh Okpata has built a unique business in Nigeria and Kenya, the first of its kind in Africa that allows peer to peer leasing for businesses and individuals.
Demand for convenience and security has seen the company thrive, having leased equipment worth over $200 million since 2015 to some of the leading global brands and government agencies. The company has also worked with tens of thousands of individuals across 20 cities leasing items across 42 categories in its platform. Josh talked to Africa Business Communities about the journey to building the award winning enterprise.
Tell us about your company
Eazyhire is Africa's leading peer to peer lease platform. On Eazyhire anyone can put up items they own for other people and businesses to lease them. In return, they are guaranteed additional income streams and assured of the security of their items. We are an active component of the fast rising African sharing economy, which is a nascent industry globally.
Where is your company located?
Eazyhire is located in Lagos, Nigeria, Nairobi, Kenya and on www.eazyhire.com.ng
How is the company funded?
Eazyhire is owned and funded by Nigerian and Kenyan co-founders and shareholders and a leading seed venture capital firm in Nigeria and the UK.
What are your company’s unique selling points?
Being the first African platform for peer to peer leasing stands us out in itself but beyond the nature of our startup, the trust we have built over the years, with thousands of vendors across Sub-Saharan Africa who put up a wide variety of items on our platform with the assurance of utmost safety and value exchange, gives thousands of clients who use our platform for emergency, pleasure and everything between, the guarantee of service of the highest quality, every single time. We offer secure, excellent and reliable lease services; to individuals needing nearly any item(s) temporarily but without the option of buying, to small businesses looking to cut costs, run leaner and greener and scale on a budget, to large companies looking to improve the bottom line, increase operational efficiency and work flow uptime by leasing vehicles and equipment instead of buying them.
We sell an experience, this our clients can't find elsewhere. It is for this reason that Eazyhire was awarded Nigerian tech startup company of the year at the annual NiRA awards for two years in a row, 2016 and 2017.
Who is your clientele?
Our customer segmentation is practically divided into two unequal halves. The B2B and B2C (along with all their variations). In the B2B sector, we have leased vehicles, office, maritime, construction and industrial equipment worth over $200 million dollars since 2015 to some of the leading global brands and government agencies. In the B2C sector, tens of thousands of individuals across 20 cities have leased items across 42 categories on our platform. In all of these, we have and continue to work with thousands of vendors in four countries, to make these and more happen seamlessly.
What are the company’s prospects going forward?
Eazyhire aims to strategically roll out its services across Africa, to create a trust based and secure sharing community where people are connected in more ways than one and lasting personal and business relationships are built, one lease at a time. We expect to launch in four more countries in Eastern and Southern Africa and four countries in West Africa within the next 72 months.
Our B2B service will almost exclusively be available only in these markets, on launch but our B2C services will be more widely available across most parts of Africa, within that period of time. Our mid to long term ambitions include growing beyond Africa and into Europe, Asia and the rest of the world, if we can attract the right degree of investment and relevant networks. Which is why we are more than happy to be an active member of the African Business Communities.
What is the latest news from Eazyhire?
Eazyhire is hosting an invite only African Sharing Economy roundtable series where foremost startup co-founders, C-suite employees, investors, interested stakeholders and enthusiasts can sit to discuss, share ideas and possibly collaborate (including across borders) on the challenges and opportunities in the industry and chart the way forward. It will hold in Nairobi, Kenya on July 29, Kampala, Uganda on August 5 and Lagos, Nigeria on August 12. To participate, partner or for more information, kindly tweet @eazyhireNG or @absolutelyjosh and Email josh@eazyhire.com.ng.
Also read:
[Interview] Beryle Uza, Managing Director, Angled North, Kenya
[Interview] Marc Gellings, CEO Business1.com
[Interview] Mike Bondo, CEO and Co founder, McShop, Democratic Republic of Congo
Africa Business Communities is conducting a series of interviews with African CEOs. Interested in an interview?
Great! To participate, please send an e-mail to bas@africabusinesscommunities.com