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Nigerian actor, Jim Iyke, wants to lead the service networking sector with his new startup

Jim Iyke has established a service networking company with an app that will provide handyman from the plumber to the nurse, for end users.

Nigerian actor, Jim Iyke is currently putting finishing touches on his plan to take over Nigeria’s service networking sector.

After three years out of Nollywood, the trained psychologist and banking and finance graduate aims at leading the service networking sector with his new startup, Oga Work.

Speaking with Business Insider Sub Saharan Africa, SSA, Jim Iyke explained that his startup is a professional and domestic service networking company which pools a cluster of highly skilled and well-trained experts ranging from plumbers to nurses readily available to deliver their trained services on demand.

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“Oga Work is a platform with an app acting as a middleman between artisans, skilled and unskilled workers and end users. What we do is help you locate your handyman, from the plumber to the electrician, tutor for the kids, driver or maybe a nurse, we provide someone that will take care of those services. We are a platform that provides content and services for end users. It’s pretty much like Uber because we locate the nearest professional to you and connect them with you to render their services,” Iyke said.

Jim Iyke says security operatives have scanned all service providers

The actor and entrepreneur says the service providers on the Oga Work platform have all been vetted by the Nigerian Police.

“It has also gone through proper vetting system with the commissioner of police. He personally set up a department to vet all our service providers to ensure our service providers are safe to be around you. So you can feel comfortable with whoever is coming to your home,” Iyke noted.

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Jim Iyke is the CEO of Oga Work

When asked about his level of involvement in the startup, Jim was quick to say he is running the platform alongside other partners but he is the chief executive officer of Oga Work.

“Without sounding modest, I don’t do ambassador roles anymore, I have since quit that and that means I own stakes in the businesses I delve into. In all the businesses I am involved in, I own a substantial part with my partners except for an airline business where I am a junior partner.

“For Oga Work, this is owned by three people and I am the Chairman and CEO of the company while my cousin works as the COO and we have a director, so that tells you my level of involvement,” Jim Iyke told Business Insider SSA.

The edge over competitors

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Jim Iyke is aware of competitors and he explained how he intends to get an edge over other competitors like Workclick.

He said: “We are giving unbelievable experience for anyone coming to our platform. We are giving three months subscription for the first set of clients that come on our platform and we would be giving the lowest sign-off fee ever in this industry. It’s so non-competitive and simply dismissal just to bring people on board and we advertise your business and services that you are bringing on our platform. It’s almost like getting Jim Iyke to be your ambassador for free without paying a dime because I’m involved solely in this. We will work hard to ensure your business is directly in the eyes of the end users and it’s not a regular business like competitors do, we don’t leave your business to its fate, we ensure you get your services rendered to the final end users because that is how we can all grow. We bring your services and businesses to the doorstep of the end users with an aggressive marketing strategy.”

How does this contribute to Jim Iyke’s net worth?

Jim Iyke is not willing to share his exact net worth but he confirmed that his involvement in the new startup will positively contribute to the increase in his total net worth.

“Of course, every of my involvement in business is to contribute to my net worth, I am an Igbo man and we grew up being better than any Harvard School trained graduate. Yes, I went to school for all these but nothing in the classroom can suffix for what I have gotten while doing business. My net worth is serving humanity, I can tell you I have always worked hard and I have been blessed all through my life,” he said.

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Jim Iyke’s take on Nigerian startups

There is still so much to be done, Nigeria is not at that corner at the moment. We are talking about Africans as a whole, everyone is coming to Africa to tap from what we can offer because this is the market and the future with natural resources, the skill is raw and untapped but believe me, a diamond in the rough will appeal to the so-called superpowers. Economically, things may seem down-trodden or in the dark as we speak but that does not change the spirit of the Nigerian entrepreneurial drive. I believe Anthony Bourdain said there was nowhere like Nigeria and our entrepreneurial drive is like nowhere in the world, so I believe Nigerian startups are the next big things to happen to Nigeria.

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