When Peter Muriithi (pictured below) started Megashift Technologies in 2018, all he wanted to do was offer computer and Information Technology related solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
After plugging SME’s with the solutions, slowly he started noticing there were struggles in the business operations of some of his clients.
"My clients then were using old methods of recording operations, income reconciliation and more. They were using Microsoft Excel sheets and other manual ways to know staff work hours, manage payments and some even keep records in files which posed a risk to the clients,” Peter disclosed. "In case of a fire outbreak, all the data of the company would go up in flames.”
"We saw an opportunity to come up with an automated system that will enhance efficiency in the daily operations, in staff management and managing payrolls. That is how Crew HR system was born,” he said.
The software is web-based, one that is accessible online for any client who wants to use it. All you need to do is create an account for your business and you will be set. Thereafter, key in the number of staff you have on the system. It enables you to also know how to pay them, how much, when and manage costs. It uses the pay-to-use business model.
"The decision to apply this business model was informed by the fact that our target clients aren’t as established financially. So the cost issue is what drove the need to provide a subsidized pricing model,” Peter told The Innovator.
He has been fortunate enough to plug his solutions into a number of SME’s and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). But this didn’t come easy.
Funding, he says, remains a big challenge in getting his business to the heights that he wants to. He asserts that if more flexible funding methods could be advanced to SME’s and startups, the country would be far because it would be easy to provide employment opportunities as SME’s cater for over 90 per cent of the employment in the country both directly and indirectly.
Currently, he has gotten grants and other forms of funding amounting to about Sh3 million to boost his business, but even this is just a drop in the ocean.
Another big challenge he faces is the mentality around Kenyan startups in the market where it’s hard to penetrate as a young entrepreneur.
