Tell us about the history of Nandimobile. How did the name come about?
The name Nandi is derived from the Bemba (Bantu dialect spoken widely in Zambia) phrase "umunandi", meaning "my friend" To reflect our commitment to empowering relationships and enabling connections. This name was chosen to fit the company’s main goal of connecting businesses and customers, thus creating a comfortable friendship environment between these parties.
What are the core goals and visions of Nandimobile? What current activities are you carrying out to achieve your goals?
The company currently is focused on marketing and selling its maiden services; Gripeline and Infoline. We also open up our SMS platform for other projects. The most recent project was the use of our SMS platform to collate votes for the Best Customer Service Telecom company in Ghana.
- Empower brand by increasing customer retention rates.
- Empower businesses to respond to customer feedback instantly, in the most personal and engaging way.
- Empower your business with a customer support tool that is both affordable and convenient.
- Improve service delivery by enabling real-time feedback to questions, or complaints that customers have.
You recently won an award. Tell us about that and how it made your team feel.
At San Francisco, this February, Nandimobile’s Gripeline software was awarded the Best Business Award by the Launch Conference grand jury. For us this was a very exciting moment. Within the company we have been inspired to achieve more than we already have as well as encourage other African start-ups to do same.
What are your educational backgrounds?
Anne Amuzu pursued Computer Engineering at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Michael Dakwa read Building Technology at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Edward Tagoe pursued Psychology at the University of Ghana
How and when did you get introduced to programming?
Anne and Michael had different exposure of programming prior to entering the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST). Edward didn’t have programming experience before he applied for MEST. At MEST all three co-founders we introduced to varying levels of software development.
What makes you feel passionate about your craft?
We are moved by the fact that our software affects businesses and individuals in a positive way. For us this achievement cheers us up every day.
What do you feel programmers have to offer in Ghana?
Developers in Ghana have a challenge to overcome. Challenges include overcoming the Internet penetration problem, literacy rate of users in the country and the lack of support resources in the country. Despite all these challenges, we believe programmers have a lot to offer to the nation. We believe it is the duty of the developer community to bring developing nations such as Ghana to the technological age in the developed world.
How will the web and mobile technology play a role in developing the infrastructure in Africa?
Software produced by programmers can make life more enjoyable for Ghanaians. For Africa, mobile technology has been proven to be the best alternative. These could better the lot of users in different sectors of their lives; ie banking, fashion, finance etc.
How can we increase the number of female programmers in Ghana?
Modeling could be an option. If we can get a group of female models who other female programmers can look up to and receive mentorship from. These role-models will serve as the motivating factors that will urge other females to come on board.
What are your thoughts on the Coders4Africa initiative?
Nandimobile believes initiatives such as these will go a long way to increase the number of individuals who go into programming. We look forward to being part of the Coders4Africa Ghana Technology conference June 18th and 19th at the Advanced Information Technology Institute.
