MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

ShowYourTrade

One-line solution summary:

A digital marketplace to quickly assemble teams, successfully execute ideas and easily scale products and services globally.

Pitch your solution.

People are losing their jobs and businesses are shutting down drastically, especially with COVID-19. For these people, starting alternative online-based businesses in new fields is daunting. Their prior skillsets and qualifications have not prepared them for this new reality. With ShowYourTrade.com, the No 1 destination for quickly, successfully and globally executing ideas; we intend using our mobile, web and AR/VR platforms to help people 1. Easily identify new business areas to focus on and train them with necessary digital and durable skills using online videos. 2. Quickly assemble team members with required skillsets including staff, partners and mentors from our online users and 3. Easily scale their products and services globally through access to capital, market and technology. People's lives can change dramatically by accessing funds through our Business Plan Competitions, Investor-Entreprenuership Meetups and Global Investment Programs. They can use our Apps and AR/VR technologies to market effectively and globally.

Film your elevator pitch.

What specific problem are you solving?

Nigeria is currently the poverty capital of the world, with over 80million people living in poverty. This is closely the same story with many other African countries. COVID-19 has even driven more families to poverty, as they lose their jobs and businesses. Government are not able to provide a social security like in developed countries. Even when they do, politicians find ways to squander these monies as it does not get to the real people. This poverty has led to increase in crimes, kidnapping and all sorts of vices in our society. Not finding a solution will further cause harm, as my own brother would have been kidnapped or maybe even killed while doing his work in one of the states recently. People who are not skilled turn to this way of life. Those who are skilled cannot find jobs as the job market has shrunk drastically. Starting a new line of business can be challenging as the marketplace has moved online, and not many of these people have been trained in this area, neither do they have access to this market easily, nor the required funds to start up. These are the problems we are trying to solve.

What is your solution?

To solve these problems, we have designed and launched a web app, and would soon deploy a mobile app with AR/VR/MR and Machine Learning technologies to provide the following services:

1. Help affected persons to discover new business areas to channel their energies into and as well train them with necessary digital, hands-on and character skills using online videos, machine learning and VR/AR tools.

2. One major difficulty in starting a new venture is in staffing the right skillset, and finding adequate partners and supportive mentors. With a click, our apps aggregates users according to different fields that can be harnessed easily to meet these people and engage their services.

3. With regards to access to capital, we have a Business Plan Competition that runs every year starting from 2019. We are creating a platform like Dragon's Den or Shark Tank that allows Investors and Entreprenuers to meet. We are also working at tapping into Global Investment Programs to grant people access to funds.

4. Our Apps and AR/VR technologies will help people own personalised online stores and market their products and services effectively, immersively and globally, through our growing database of users and other social media platforms.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

These people include:

1. People who just lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19 outbreak and wants to start their own business. We are currently discussing with some of them, as they shed light into their difficulties. This understanding is allowing us tune our solutions to meet their need.

2. Existing businesses who want to take their businesses online and create their own marketplace. With the outbreak and shutdown of activities globally for about 3-4 Months now, these category of people have discovered the need to go online and are providing help through our various Funnels, e.g. Our intuitive web-builder.

3. Young Innovators or graduates who are highly skilled but lack access to mentors and funds. These number of people are scattered all over Nigeria and Africa. We are deploying our funding programs for these set of people.

4. Regular people who want to change their careers but do not know how to do so. When you meet them, they look a bit hopeless as the idea of a better life seems oblique and as they cannot see the possibility of changing their careers. Our training modules and technologies will be useful to help them change careers easily

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Enable small and new businesses, especially in untapped communities, to prosper and create good jobs through access to capital, networks, and technology

Explain how the problem, your solution, and your solution’s target population relate to the Challenge and your selected dimension.

Providing good jobs and inclusive entrepreneurship is essentially what ShowYourTrade is about. It provides opportunities for skilled professionals to be hired to offer their services either as a staff or as a mentor. It also allows people to use a well tested path to starting a new career or business through training and the use of our rich array of digital tools including Business Plan Tool, Web-Builder App, E-Marketing App, Social Media App and third-party Integrated Payment Solutions.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Abuja, Nigeria

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community

Who is the primary delegate for your solution?

Ebechidi Nnaemeka