ASUU STRIKE: 3 Undergraduates set to Launch a Tech StartUp
Millions of undergraduates in public tertiary institutions especially federal universities received an unusual Valentine’s day gift, on February 14, 2022, when the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) announced that they will be going on strike.
One week turned into 2 weeks, 2 weeks turned into 1 month, and as of today, these students have been at their various homes for 210+ days (over 7 months).
For most of them, it’s been a traumatic experience. They’ve watched helplessly as their plans for the future are being flirted with by the key actors in the drama, (ASUU and the Federal Government).
Interestingly, some of these affected undergraduates in several states across the country decided to maximize the opportunities to better their lives. While some are learning new skills, signing up for online short courses in various international institutions, volunteering to serve in companies and earn some money, etc.
Well, this is also the case of some undergraduates in the city of Port Harcourt who were also affected by the ASUU Strike. Here’s the story:
Shortly after the call for a strike by ASUU, Harvoxx Tech Hub the number one leading tech company in Port Harcourt came up with a Digital Skill Up Project for 300 Youths in the Rivers States (DSP 300). Applications were made open to the public and applicants were eligible to learn any of the 5 tech skills available in the program.
The DSP 300 program is an initiative of Harvoxx Tech Hub. The program which is a part of the company’s CSR programs was designed to equip and empower youths in the state with tech skills within a period of three months. After 3 months of intensive training, the trainees are picked from different tech tracks to form groups and are given a startup to build.
Well, these young undergraduates came together with 3 other fresh graduates doing the programs and decided to found a startup. Immediately after the 3 months of training, they found themselves in the same group, they bonded, took up the challenge, and decided to build a tech-enabled solution for the hospitality industry.
Cutrate.ng as they call it, is a hotel booking platform built specifically to help people find and book affordable but comfortable hotels.
The team lead and Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO) of cutrate.ng, Kenile Achije, while speaking with Techblit.com said that the product is built to actually help people find hotels that are very comfortable but affordable within a particular location. She further stressed that the product will go a long way in giving visibility to such hotels.
It will also increase patronage for such hotels, thereby causing them to increase their workforce which will eventually lead to employment, the team-lead emphasizes.
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), QueenMary, who is also one of the digital marketers for the team, told techblit.com that cutrate.ng was also built to help people make money from the hospitality industry by just signing up for the cutrate affiliate program.
She insisted that according to Statista in 2018, hotel room revenue in Nigeria reached $252million and has been forecasted to reach $445 million by 2023. In 2021 it earned $348 million and in 2022 it is expected to finish at $394 million.
“With cutrate.ng some very smart people can have a bite of the cake. We are creating a system that will enable people to use the power of technology to earn money without stress.” QueenMary added.
“We are getting set to launch by October 15, 2022, and anyone who is interested to be among the first people to know when we launch can visit our website at www.cutrate.com to join our waitlist. Also we have gone a step further to partner with Harvoxx Tech Hub to train people on Digital Marketing for the Hospitality industry for FREE.
The training is designed to equip some hotel staff with basic digital marketing skills to help promote their respective hotels online and also equip young people with digital marketing skills tailored to the hospitality industry which they can leverage to make money for themselves.” says Favor Abraham, Head of Branding and Partnership of cutrate.ng.
Techblit.com gathered that the training will focus on social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing, and WhatsApp optimization and will last for 30 days. You can register for the training here.
“As much as we are not happy with the ASUU Strike, we are glad that we have been able to utilize the period to acquire a skill, found an awesome team, and built a startup as well.” She stated further
Their story reminds us of the importance of maximizing opportunities and not making many excuses.
It’s interesting to note how these undergraduates among others are willing to push this through and see to the success of their startup.
Are you an undergraduate? What are you doing in these times?
Well, the stories of these ones, should inspire you.
You’ve got all it takes.
