Olusegun Owoade
Mr. Olusegun is the Founder and CEO of Mecho Autotech and an actuarial/enterprise risk management expert.
Mr. Olusegun led the general insurance and enterprise risk management division of the actuarial practice of Ernst & Young, one of the world's four largest accounting firms.
After a decade of experience at top-tier consulting firms, he also worked as CRO at Kobo360, known as "truck version of Uber," where he implemented a framework for managing supply chain risk.
In 2018, he invented and patented an Automatic Voice Biometric Verification System with Actuarial Valuation Adds-in for remote Biometric Verification. He also holds a PGD from the University of Leicester, UK.
Below is a direct voice of a founder who is trying his hand at startups and chasing his dreams.
Leader's ViewpointReason to launch service
I was in charge of risk management and insurance for Kobo360, and I noticed that about 90% of the incidents reported by Kobo360 were mechanical failures. I became intrigued by this problem and began investigating the root cause. It turned out that lack of vehicle maintenance culture, incompetent mechanics, and fake spare parts were the main problems. Car owners are facing the same problem.
Moreover, as an actuarial expert who has worked in the insurance industry for almost a decade, I know that insurance companies face the problem of fraudulent claims, especially in auto insurance plans. In auto insurance, policyholders often submit exaggerated repair estimates.
So I decided to tackle these issues by building an integrated digital platform that provides end-to-end automotive services to individuals, businesses and insurance companies. I decided to work with my co-founder, who is an automotive engineer and has been running an auto repair service for almost 8 years.
Current state of the industry and how it is being addressed by service
In Africa, car maintenance and repair is complicated. Car owners have only two options to choose from: branded maintenance shops, which are very expensive and geographically limited to less than 1% of the total, or unscreened roadside mechanics, which make up the other 99%.
About 95% of car owners have no access to branded mechanics with guaranteed quality and reliability, and rely on roadside mechanics. However, the typical problem with roadside mechanics is poor quality and transparency.
We have built a network of trusted mechanics and spare parts vendors and developed an app that makes it easy to book, pay and match mechanics. Via the Mecho app, a customer or business can summon a nearby vetted mechanic who are available in major cities and roadways in the country
Future of Service
Our goal is to use technology to provide seamless maintenance and repair solutions to car owners across Africa. Currently, our business is limited to Nigeria.
In the near future, we hope to expand into the West African region. We also hope to increase our profit margins by partnering directly with lubricant blenders and OEM parts.
Mecho Autotech, https://www.mechoautotech.com/
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