BOSSZOFFICE

To foster financial and digital inclusion regardless of location or educational background , almost 20 million of Ghanaians are being left behind in the global digitization agenda . These people even though having access to phone are left without any real digital identity or credit score ,  leading to limited or closed doors when seeking loans from banks or other entities .

With 25 million data enabled phone in Ghana equipped with mobile money functionality making it convenient making transactions,  this has let to high rate of interest fraud or scam , taking advantage of the vulnerable people individuals when making payments online. Between January to March 2024, Ghana has  recorded 194 online  cases of fraud, resulting in total loss of 2,400,000 cedis . 

How can there be a talk of financial inclusion , when the topmost question is unanswered  .   Where is the money coming from ? Since most youth and  women are without sustainable form of employment,  has plunged the economic conditions of individuals with work or any other souce of income . As the need for creation of jobs must be paramount if we strive to widen digitization ecosystem .

A major reason why there is a disparity within the ecosystem or local communities  sterms from a place of misinformation and low educational know how,  as Ghanaians , residing in tier 2 , 3 and 4 cities, have a certain notion that , doing business or using your phone and internet  is scam or a way to cheat people of their money,  With this,  it becomes prevalent that solving such a huge mess starts from education . There need to be a conscious approach in teaching people about the use and value to be attained using phones and internet in making payments or transfers.

Which explains the rational behind the need for bio data including facial recognition,  finder print, voice detection and  One time password to provide much robust security when dealing with users money , this way all users get a unique ID and it's QR codes per user , this way we curb the influence of fraud using bio data, enabling everyone get personalised identity for easy and prompt payments or transfer to anyone anywhere in seconds. 

BOSSZOFFICE is ecommerce (B2B2C ) and fintech(P2P) enabled marketplace with a touch of game of chance. 

Basically what we do is help sellers increase their sales and revenue, while saving time and money for buyers .

We do this by allowing sellers to post beautiful and quality pictures of their business or products on our platform and we will offer free and fast deliveries on all items to anywhere in Ghana from few minutes to 3 days guaranteed, and even a chance to win 200 or 500 cedis weekly,  coupled with an escrow system to foster. 

Using our eco friendly boxes and bags as the means of packaging to be used by our delivery agents as they get paid for every package delivered.  

And for a simple , easy  and secured way of making payments or transfer to anyone anywhere in seconds.  

On BOSSZOFFICE our customers automatically support our social and corporate responsibility of planting trees and flowers along our streets, neighborhood and homes,  beautifying our environment and reducing our carbon footprint.  Championing UNDP goals 8, 13 and 15 .

BOSSZOFFICE works, by allowing customers to create accounts in less than 3 minutes  simply using name , phone number .....,  

When a buyers makes payments for an item , we capture the payment and notify the seller about it,  but does not move the money yet , until the buyer has received the package is satisfied with it only then sellers receive their money. This ensures trust with the platform. 

Our tech stack comprises of blockchain and AI technology . For the person to person payments using Hedera blockchain  and  QR codes , while infusing AI for geolocation and security of BOSSZOFFICE. 

Our target market will be the 200000 peole in Techiman,  which will be our test city , unboarding initial customers, verifying our business model and product,  before scaling in batches to all 16 regions in Ghana among  the 44m registered phones targeting the 25m active data users across Ghana  .

Specifically targeting sellers within local markets, selling onion,  yam , tomatoes, meat ,groceries, to the  mom and pop shops , food joints , supermarkets , manufacturing companies , and most importantly farmers .

Buyers whom would have to walk , take a taxi or bus to go buy prefared items or goods,  to use boss-mall and enjoy free deliveries,  and enjoy massive discounts when buying in bulk across Ghana and eventually across Africa. 

Additionally target shop owners to use our QR codes in receiving payments from buyers in store,  along with individuals that mostly use mobile money in making or receiving payments. 

Currently these 3 customer segments, are made to sell from their brick and mortar shops, only serving customers whom come to the store to buy from them directly ,limiting the number of customers to be served,  leading to low income and revenue,  ,with BOSSZOFFICE, Sellers can get an additional source of income, just by creating a shop on BOSS-MALL for free , generation revenue from potential buyers across the city ,region or country. 

Buyers have no choice but pay high prices as delivery cost, prompting potential buyers from opting out at checkout,  we solve this offering free deliveries regardless of location or item purchased,  this creates liquidity on the marketplace as sellers are making more sales ,and buyers making purchases knowing they will pay no fees for delivery,  this drives the job creation agenda of BOSSZOFFICE in the form of boss delivery agents,  serving as an additional source of income to youth without work , mobile money agents,  taxi or bus drivers , as we as community agents. 

On payments,  even though cash is king in Africa,  the most used form digital payments used mostly in Ghana and Africa is mobile money , using MTN mobile money as reference,  to send money to some one , I will go through about 9 steps before making a transfer, along with its 1% charge on payments.  Using BOSS-PAY , from a singke page , i can make payments to anyone anywhere in less than 5 seconds,  paying just 0.5%.

We currently have 2 teams , product development team and customers development team. 

As the founder and CEO of BOSSZOFFICE,  I come from Techiman in the bono east region of  Ghana , having returned from studying petroleum engineering in China,  the idea was birthed in this city , upon having discussions and interview with users,  I found a high acceptance rate 73/75 . And since then it's been continuous learning and researching about the peoplem , customers and the solutions we offer . 

We target Techiman because,  it's a market or business city , almost everyone is in one form of business or the other,  having thousands of shops a Long the stress,  and pride of Techiman is it's markets , ones the biggest local market in West Africa,  with such data , these people with the community are poised to use our services,  knowing that it's been headed by one of their own,  infusing loyalty among people and the business.

Luckily, our family's 10 bedroom house as strategic location as office space,  hence reducing the cost of rent , if we target a different city or region .

On the product development team is a product manager , fullstack developer, and software engineer, all coming together to design and develop the APP and website for iOS and Android. 

Business development team is made of sales and marketing,  accountant , human resource,  together we go out and conduct customer interviews,  educating them on how best to use their phones to earn as ease to life ,solidifying our positions in the market , generally leading to a much better customer experience. 

we currently have a 70% built MVP , we yet to connect the payments gateway , so as to allow our early users or customers to try and test the solutions.  

We have received samples of our delivery bags , meeting our quality standards and  pricing. 

With about 50 to 100 on waiting list , we validated the idea and business model using the offline mode , getting order from buyer , relating the details to seller,  hand over the package to the delivery agent            ( tricycle ) , upon getting the package, then hand over the buyers. we tried with about 20 buyers and sellers ,in different segments from food joints,  to meat seller .. we ended up making 2400 GHS in profits , after spending 200 GHS on packaging and delivery agents. 

As a 1st time founder non technical founder  , I will love to get help on how best to make BOSSZOFFICE more secured , as well choosing the right tools for our business operations. 

Having mentorship is dear to my heart , because I belive  that ,if you want to get there,  ask those who have already been there,  as such getting mentorship on how best to  be better leader to my team,  and the business as whole. 

Funding indeed is the oil that powers the engines,  having bootstrapped this startup till date , faulting on making payments to the team , it's been such hard and emotional jouney,  but I do hope to be selected,  so as to secure some funds to continue product development and proof of concept. 

The one thing I love about solve is the education materials or support provided startups or entrepreneurs,  continual learning is what drives  my entrepreneurial spirit,  as such I know I will learn a lot from being part of solve challenge , and list of people winners ,all but tells and proves that,  I will be good hands when selected. 

The innovation of BOSSZOFFICE sterms from its business model and target audience, 

Currently in Ghana, there is no ecommerce and fintech marketplace that offers free deliveries across Ghana,  not even  jumia that offered free deliveries within Accra only if you buy something worth over 300 cedis . Offering free deliveries across Ghana is one of the things that makes us unique,  because I have a way to do so sustainably without charging for deliveries. 

Also we use the blue Ocean approach,  targeting communities or people that are not selling on other ecommerce platforms, that have been left underserved,  or completely ignored by existing solutions,  we target that customers,  and educate them about ecommerce,  how to use our product or services to drive more revenue and enjoy an Ease to life .

By far what stands out is me the founder and CEO,  because not only did i attain an epiphany or satoris about the idea,  but I have spent years honing in the execution,  this has birthed what I call,  creative execution and innovation  model , of which I hope to teach and share with our startups and founders especially in the ecommerce, logistics,  and fintech industry. 

In Ghana , over 95% of all transaction are by cash,  and only 2% is by digital means , in terms of value 63% of all total payments are  via  cash . Where as 37% were processed digitally . This tells how big the problem is in digital finance inclusion . 

Having the chance to make payments or transfers,  from a single interface,  coupled with lowest charges,  not only are we going to onboard a lot of users to attain a unique digital ID and QR code,  but also the opportunity to earn decent money,  all on platform or APP. 

When we did customers interviews,  only then did we realised that,  customers dont want to be the only ones with the possibility to sell or buy,  generating  revenue , but rather other communities or individuals within their locality , community,  this way they can send or receive money across board, leading to liquidity on BOSSZOFFICE.

 BOSS-CHAT is a social media feature with BOSSZOFFICE  ,that allows users to chat among themselves , posting pictures and videos of that in life doing their work or job. This creates a community within the ecosystem,  such that,  decisions about what type of Tree to plant along the street , or what kind of farm produce to cultivate together as a community, or where to secure loans , all such decisions could be taken by a group or community,  town or city,  fostering a strong community and decisions culture. 

On creation of jobs,  is where we introduce BOSS-DELIVERIES,  allowing anyone who can walk , ride a bike, taxi or bus , mobile money agents,  an unemployed youth,  can all simply act as our delivery agents,  and get paid for every package delivered.  This creates decent job leading to source of income. 

Our motto as  BOSSZOFFICE : is an Ease to life . As such it's vital to offer more than enough value to our customers and earth.  

we champion 3 of UNDP goals

8. Decent jobs and economic growth : we do this by allowing anyone with a phone, can walk , use tricycle , drive a taxi or bus to register and be our delivery agents,  this has the opportunity of serving as an additional source of income to over 100000 people per region in Ghana. Each earning around 300 to 500 USD per month before launch.  We have the data and experience from our text city and country,  to replicate our solutions in other African countries. 

13. Climate Action : this is incorporated in our business model and product development . On BOSSZOFFICE as part our social and corporate responsibility of planting trees and flowers along our streets,  neighborhood and homes , beautifying our environment and reducing our carbon footprint , we equally use the best in house blockchain technology to have positive impact on our emissions. 

15. Life on land , additionally planting of Trees not only rejuvenate our planet , but also serve as hibitact to animals in the ecosystems,  for humans,  enjoying fresh air,  providing shade , whiles reducing our negative impact on earth based on the plants and flowers to grow,  

Using jobs to be done theory,  building a platform that gets the entire job done better for the user,  is what drives us into building a supper App.  To foster retention and community around BOSSZOFFICE,  is bosschat,  using the power of social media to disseminate misinformation,  and creating of decisions making culture, further leading to a strong community based on technology.  

BOSSZOFFICE is technology,  logistics and payments platform . To really be the preferred choice of people on daily basis , functionality and security has to be top notch. 

This prompted the use technology,  to encrypt transactions and payments  , using Hedera blockchain , facial recognition,  voice and fingerprint to curb fraud and maintain high standards. 

As a startup in Ghana   with limited funds and resources,  it's only reasonable to form partnership with payments service providers,  our partnership with START OA  and emtech,  bank of Ghana,  all but solidify our stands on adherence to licensing and procedures,  as it's mandatory to do by bank of Ghana  for fintech startups. 

To get more eyeballs , will be the use of drones to deliver some of our packages,  using geospatial/geolocation to connect delivery agents with avalible packages,  as well track packages on route .

Knowing that bags will be used mostly for our deliveries,  it's was only essential to use technology to develop delivery packages using corn husk , which are readily available,  due to he high cultivating of corn or maize in Ghana and the rest of Africa,  with technology along with our partners,  have developed bags that will naturally disprove or decompost in 6 to 12  months time when in contact with soil . Amazingly used bags can be converted  to  fertilizer since it's 100% organic.  With our solutions not only are we building a sustainable business model but also in our executions and logistics. 

Since we yet to officially conduct proof of concept,  we have remote and in-house teams.  

Full time  = 1. Founder and CEO                               1. Business lead 

Part time = 3. Accounts and HR                               5 sales and marketing 

I had this business idea in March 2020 , and since then I have been working on it for 4 years , initially as soloprenueur , before recruiting our business lead , with whom we have known eachother for about 12 years,  but together,  we have worked on this business for 2 years.

The rest of the team,  having only recently formed within the last 12 months.

our team is made up 6 women,  4 men , supporting eachother and building trust among ourselves. To do that , we foster a culture of making decisions together,  having weekly meetings of all team members and looking for ways to serve our customers with delight. 

As part of sharing equity,  5% will be allocated to founding teams and addictinal 5% to future employees. 

How diversed  our team is plays an important role in our organization,  as preference is given to people within cities or regions where we have footprint to employ qualified people,  equally allowing individuals with disabilities to earn decent work within our company.  

Striving to eliminate competition among team members,  by fostering education  , instilling a strong company culture, and decisions making across board. 

With BOSSZOFFICE it's mandatory for all member to train or be trained , going through series of questions and stages , this way we develop a unique unboarding process for new and existing team members .

Using the freemuim model,  allowing sellers to create shops fire , while not paying monthly subscription for 6 months,  this way , sellers who are new to selling online to get enough time to check if they find value in our services before subscriptions. 

On the ecommerce side , we allow people to buy in group's to unlock massive discounts,  or can buy individually. This way buyers get to save time and money. 

Key customers will be  sellers of fast moving and consumer goods  , food vendors or restaurants, , boutiques and fashion., artisans , momo agents, taxi or bus drivers,    community agents , individuals or companies that transact using cash,   can all use boss-mall  to get an additional source of income. 

Using the low cost entry approach ,charging as low as 10 cedis ( 1 USD ) , such that anyone can have an impact of our services,  and  make any upfront payments not until the 6th month. 

On BOSSZOFFICE we have about 12 revenue streams,  of which 7 will be operational during proof of concept.  Some revenue streams are sales of tickets and bags , ads fee , commissions per transactions,  0.5% charge per transactions,  

Customers want and need our solutions since it has proved to be a reliable way of making money for sellers,  and  to buyers the feeling of not paying for delivery charges to music to their ears  . 

If there was a platform you could use to sell or buy anything you want,  and be delivered to you for free , would you not use it ? If you dont have to pay anything to register or have addictional charges ? The benefits and value users garner using BOSSZOFFICE by far out ways the cost and time required. 

To be financially  stable,  we have to generate money from our core services,  but as a startup finding it difficult to even get funds to continue product built and perform proof of concept,  

We will strive to get grants or a soft loan from an angel investor , paying back the money in 6 to 12 months time ( because we offer 6 months freemuim to our customers ) , 

As soon as we start proof of concept,  we will charge from day ,selling our packaging materials to sellers and delivery agents, generating via sales of tickets and bags , payments from sellers to boost shop visibility through Ads . 

After validating business model and product,  along with data room,  we will then look to a VC or private equity to raise pre-seed funding,  to further continue product development, recruit new team members and officially launch our business.  

To date I have boostapped , among my family and friends to raise money in building BOSSZOFFICE.