Being a lifelong student and not losing the childlike curiosity, I believe, is the underlying attitude to growth and development in any field. This applies more logically to technological growth which has revolutionalized lives all around the globe tremendously for the past decade.
Our world feels like a more compact place and accessibility to people and information is getting seamless.
It’s beautiful how various players in the market come up with simple concepts modified into technological projects which make our lives easier, save precious time and give us quick and desired results.
A Quantum Leap by Taxi Apps!
As a country with huge human capital and at the same time never ending traffic and parking issues, our precious time and energy gets wasted in solving commuting issues. Like the wise have always said “Time is Money”; wasting the hours which can otherwise be used for countless productive activities is not such a good idea.
However, there’s always a silver lining. When I first came across taxi hailing apps, their simplicity made me literally happy! Everyone from the students to senior citizens can benefit from the comfort and accessibility. Also, it defeats the regular notion that taxis are only for the affluent ones. With apps like Uber and Easy Taxi which cater to various segments, they have created a larger audience so that everyone can benefit the ease they bring along.
Downloading the app to our phone and trying to use it for the first time may feel like an effort to many; but the ease it brings to our commute is soon going to wire our brains to get addicted to its comfort.
Not only a change in our patterns of travelling, these app based taxi services have also created employment for our people in a way which suits them. Their driver partnership concept, again powered by the wonderful Smartphone apps is an opportunity for many to create work for themselves part or full time.
The business partnership Uber initiated with Kia Motors Corporation to drastically reduce the down payment for new vehicles was another liaison to benefit the drivers and ease the process of working. From 600 driver application on its advent in late 2014, the Uber team is expecting the number to rise to around 3000 by the end of this year. These people who have employment will further fuel our economy in a very positive way.
In a developing nation like ours every person counts.
How a number of Nigerians have expressed their delight about Uber, Easy Taxi and other players by giving a shout out on various social media platforms is just a small part of the appreciation and relief the masses are enjoying.
The Entertainment apps
I’m sure it’s encouraging for various mobile application designers to see apps created by Nigerians are receiving great acceptance from the locals and the globals as well. How the entertainment app Afrinolly has reached more than 500K downloads is remarkable, it is the most downloaded entertainment app to be designed and developed in Africa. Spinlet, on the other hand, has approximately 2 million downloads and almost 1500 new subscribers daily which is wonderful. It offers a wide range of tracks and albums from both African and international music. In August 2015 Spinlet was redesigned to deliver a richer user experience and optimize the interface for mobile users. Spinlet is seamlessly taking African music to the global audience. Only technology could enable this in the most feasible manner!
Communication Apps
As they say, communication forms the bedrock for evolution of civilization and overall development. Communication in Nigeria has seen a massive growth over the last few years with apps such as BBM, Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. Now one doesn’t have to depend on phone connectivity or fear paying huge bills. These apps have made communication much more effective as they are easily accessible, facilitate instant conversations and charge less money. This has been an enabler for the Nigerian economy and its positive effects are definitely becoming more evident across industries, businesses and most importantly improving personal relationships.
It’s a small world and quite literally with apps such as Imo which are connecting people across the globe – a video call with friends and family is just a touch away and this app is surely gaining momentum in Nigeria.
How Find-A-Med is delivering significant medical information is substantial. Medical aid is an important aspect of everyone’s life and by giving the right services this app could soon become indispensable in Nigeria. Our very own Diamond Bank mobile app has reached the mark of 1 million users which is highly inspiring.
It would be almost impossible to go back in time and imagine our lives without all the wonderful technological assistance. Nigeria as a country has openly embraced the changing trends in the patterns of living and these changes are getting embedded in the everyday life, of course for the best!