Subomi Owo-Odusi, a 23-year-old Nigerian has said that by May 2016, his innovative app FueledUp will be fully functional. The app is designed to spare Nigerians the trouble of sleeping in queues while trying to get fuel in times of scarcity, like in the current crisis. As a result of incessant queues and black market activities, there are insane traffic jams (especially in metropolitan cities like Lagos) as well as a hike in the price of everything from transportation to foodstuff.
In a country where controversial issues are usually greeted with the occasional outbursts on social media and not much else, Odusi has been able to use the present situation in Nigeria to drive innovation and create a solution.
The FueledUp app will be available on a large scale by the end of May, and although a lot of Nigerians may think this is just another unnecessary invention from a ‘hungry’ young man, the app presents an alternative to waiting for hours to get fuel or being cheated by black market hustlers.
After downloading the app on any of the available platforms, the customer can discover the prices available through the “Get FueledUp” button. After this, they enter their car information and how much petrol they need as well as the delivery time. Odusi, who has worked at a fuel distribution company, says that customers do not need to be afraid of added charges as the cost of the fuel and transportation is relatively low. After requesting fuel, customers will pop their fuel tanks or be present during delivery and voila! they get their notifications on their devices that they’ve been refilled and they are ready to go wherever.
Customers are free to purchase between 20 litres to 40 litres of fuel with a minimum of 18 litres. For payment, customers will perform a cashless transaction for the services they receive from FueledUp. If you are worried about how Odusi plans to sustain the business in times of crisis, he says his background and contacts at depots in Lagos will ensure his company gets the fuel they need.
Certainly, this is like a breath of fresh air for many Lagosians who would rather have fuel brought to them than have to go out scavenging for it but the question is, will FueledUp be willing to sell fuel to customers to power their generating sets? Your guess is as good as mine.
