MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name

Skitcart

One-line solution summary.

Skitcart is a social-commerce platform optimized to allow users to channel their creativity and knowledge to make sales and earn while having fun on social media.

Elevator pitch

What is your solution?

Skitcart is a social commerce platform in the form of a mobile App and WebApp that integrates the features of a social network to help optimize e-commerce sales conversion. It uses blockchain technology to facilitate fast and easy transactions with very low transaction fees. Payments made on the platform are held in escrow until the customers show their satisfaction with the product or service delivery. The platform facilitates the sales of a wide range of products and services including but not restricted to electronics, fashion, cosmetics, freelance digital services, courses and webinars, NFTs, food and drinks, farm products, etc.

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

We are trying to solve three major problems:

1. The problem of trust, which has been a big hindrance to the adoption e-commerce for a lot of the world's population with access to the internet.

2. Low visibility and sales conversion for small brands on currently existing social media platforms.

3. Content creators who have been able to drive sales for products through their social media networks have done so for a long time with little or no compensation for their marketing, Skitcart is set to change that through our automated influencer payment protocol.

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

51.6% of Nigeria's population amounting to a total of 107.7 million people are aged 16-64, this is the age range of our target audience. Currently in Nigeria,97.8% of people who have access to the internet within the specified age range use social media and out of those, 87.9% use social media to research brands but only 51.5% use e-commerce services . From our research, we have seen that the large difference between the people that use social media and those that use e-commerce is a result of the lack of trust. We believe that our payment solution and escrow service will help breach the gap. We also believe the gap between the people that have access to the internet and those that use social media is a result of the fact that they have no economic need for it. Skitcart makes social media not just about fun and relaxation but also about earning.

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

We have done a survey on a group of 50% people and over 90% of the response attested to the need for our product.

Survey from certified internatinal databases also buttressed the need for our product through their statistics.

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

Improving financial and economic opportunities for all (Economic Prosperity)

Our solution's stage of development:

Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model

Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution—in other words, what have you accomplished to date?

We have analzyed the feasability of our product, and have strategized a plan and timeline for project up to the development of the main app. We have also created a business plan during which we came up with a business model and future projections for the project.

We are currently designing the mobile app user interface while simultaneously building our website. After this, we will commence the development of the beta version of the app.

Where our solution team is headquartered or located:

Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Team Lead:

Fabari Agbora, CEO, Co-founder and experienced programmer.