Managing construction sites can be demanding as the projects get bigger and more remote. This can lead to contractors struggling to meet deadlines, often compromising on quality and relationships.This is what drove a team led by Kelvin Wachira, 28, o...
Managing construction sites can be demanding as the projects get bigger and more remote. This can lead to contractors struggling to meet deadlines, often compromising on quality and relationships.
This is what drove a team led by Kelvin Wachira, 28, of Kenya, and Solomon Daboni, 30 of Ghana to come up with a software that helps in monitoring project resources — manpower and equipment — and site monitoring across the continent. This, the duo said, helps to cut costs considerably.
The software dubbed BidiiBuild is now being used in three countries in Africa.
The two innovators met at MEST Africa, a Pan-African entrepreneurial training programme, in 2016.
BidiiBuild received seed investment from MEST Africa after entrepreneurial training programme in 2017, as well as support from the Pangea accelerator, who have been assisting them in the Kenyan market
The duo wanted to come up with a management tool to help construction companies better track and manage building projects.
BidiiBuild software helps in connecting clients, developers and the contractors and is instrumental in tracking and managing building projects.
According to Mr Wachira, the software helps cut costs by up to 15 percent and boost overall efficiency.
“Connecting the client, developer and contractor to one information source has become imperative to successful projects. Especially now when there is a push for affordable housing, you can now monitor your project site from anywhere across the globe,” said Mr Wachira who graduated with a civil engineering degree from Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in 2016.
Instead of updating excel sheets at the end of the week, the software gives you real time analytics and automatic reports. Since its launch in October 2019, the software is managing more than 10 construction projects in Kenya which are in various stages.
BidiiBuild charges a monthly subscription or annual licence fee on its construction management software.
“Our pricing is based on the client’s needs and specification which include the number of projects the client wants to manage, number of users and duration of the project,” he added.
The company’s focus is on its two primary markets in Kenya and Ghana, but they have received requests from other countries. According to Mr Daboni, the software helps in saving both time and resources spent on a project, making it a useful technology.
“Saving 10 minutes daily on a two-year medium sized project of 30 to 50 employees amounts to savings of between $8,000 and $0,000 dollars annually,” said Mr Daboni who did a computer science degree at the University of Ghana in 2015.
“ It has been observed that just by using daily reporting through the web or mobile phone employees can save an hour each day.”
The duo have participated in the “Next 100 African Startups Initiative 2018” by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). They are currently working with four employees.
Original Source: Business Daily
