As part of efforts aimed at expanding its operations to other sectors of the Ghanaian economy, and be buffered from the dislocations occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic and crash in commodity prices, Ghana’s leading property development and maintenance company Peponi Gruppe has successfully morphed into a tech company by developing an on-demand mobile application for maintenance services that is seeing strong monthly growth.
Peponi Gruppe which was established as an infrastructure and property management services in 2017 diversified with the launch of PEPs, an Android and iOS mobile app that allows people to connect with plumbing, electrical, and cleaning services and have providers at their doorsteps in less than 45 minutes.
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According to the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Peponi Gruppe, Frank Agyemang “the app is a practical solution to an age-old and everyday problem – finding highly-skilled, reliable and effective professionals for common household and office maintenance services,” adding that “even though there are road-side technicians or individual providers, most people are not able or reluctant to hire them due to their unpredictable pricing, delays in getting requested services, and the unreliability of these providers. They also do not provide a one-stop-shop of services.”
PEPs does, and uptake has been strong from the off. It already has around 100 monthly active users, with numbers increasing by 20 per cent month-on-month. While users have greater convenience, service professionals are also provided with a whole new way of reaching customers. With the initial market response so positive, Peponi Gruppe now wants to take advantage. Agyemang said the company is in talks with a number of venture capital firms as it looks to raise US$500,000 by the close of this year to expand its operations to three more cities and a whole new market. “PEPs has managed to gain grounds in Accra and Tema, and plans are far advanced to expand our services to Takoradi and Kumasi this year and Nairobi, Kenya, in the second quarter of next year,” Agyemang said.
Revenue is generated from the mobile app by service providers paying Peponi Gruppe 25 per cent of the amount charged for the job they receive from the mobile platform. “Revenue has been encouraging and we are about breaking even,” said Agyemang.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry