Imagine a world where you are able to detect a counterfeit product, say a spare part or gas cylinder, just by looking at it. Or identify counterfeit drugs or imitation hair products.
Well, Evans Karuma, 19, has created a mobile phone application, Legit App, that is capable of detecting phony products.
The app can scan hair and beauty products, vehicle spare parts, pharmaceutical products, alcoholic beverages, fertilisers and LPG gas and cylinders.
“These are the most affected products, so you will find many counterfeit products that are being passed of as genuine. If we can reduce the level of fake products in the market by four per cent each year, imagine what we will have achieved in five years,” says a hopeful Evans.
He explains that the main aim of the app is not to scrutinise the contents of the product, but to satisfy the customer that the product came directly from the manufacturer.
“The knowledge that what you have bought will fulfill the need for which it was purchased, and also that you will not consume or use fake products gives one peace of mind,” he explains.
His app has more than 6,000 different products that can be scanned on it.
“Using the QR codes generated by us, we can guarantee you 100 per cent on the genuineness of the product, not so much if we’re using the company-generated barcodes,” Evans says.
Necessity is the mother of invention, so the saying goes, and it was only when Evans became a victim of counterfeit car oil that he thought of developing this app.
“On December 27, 2015, my car’s ATF fluid light blinked just outside Thika town as I was heading back to Nairobi, forcing me to walk back to town to buy the fluid required,” he begins.
After driving for a few meters however, he noticed fire coming from the car’s bonnet.
“It turns out that the fluid I had bought was used oil that had been reheated to attain the golden look,” Evans explains.
It is okay for a manufacturer to put a barcode on their product, but is it communicating anything to the consumer? This was question that led to the creation of the app.
The company has focused more on LPG products, and has OiLibya as one of their main clients.
“Gas manufacturers are always complaining about counterfeits, but nobody seemes to have a solution to this common problem. We’re taking care of the inventory to ensure every cylinder that goes out into the market returns.”
Using his app, Evans has created a system that creates logs and tracks a cylinder’s history from production to when it lands in the market, thus creating another angle of business he had not considered at the beginning.
Every cylinder is assigned a distinct number to generate a QR code, which the consumer can scan using the app, to find out if the cylinder was refilled by the company that purports to manufacture the gas.
“The main disadvantage of illegal refills is that the gas is usually not filled to the required weight, and it also compromises on the safety of the consumer, since the gas may have been contaminated,” says Evans.
Research from OiLibya shows that only one out of seven cylinders released into the market comes back for refills. This means many of the products in the market are unverified, and the LPG companies are losing business to these counterfeiters.
No doubt, Evans has many clients that could do with his services.
If you want to succeed, you cannot work alone...
Evans, a third-year student of Economics and Finance at Kenyatta University, is inspired by his entrepreneurial mother. He made a deal with her to complete his degree before he got her blessings to go into business.
His sister, Janice Nyawera, is the company’s Director of Business Development. In charge of operations is Sonia Wangui, Kilonzo Kivuitu is the technical advisor, while Fred Ogamba is the legal consultant.
The application and system cost him close to Sh400,000 to develop and run. Evans wrote down his exact specifications for the app, which was then developed by Eric Karani, a developer at Craft Sillicon.
The 19-year-old set up his company from his own savings; he has been working at a car auctioning company since 2014.
The QR codes stamped on the LPG gas cylinders are generated by rechargeable battery-powered machines at the filling points because electricity can cause fires. The monitors observing the distribution of the LPG cylinders are in the company’s premises, based on Thika Road.
The app gives you two points for every search on a product. The points are redeemable for yet to be determined benefits.
Evans was invited to speak at the Africa LPG Summit in Dar es Salaam in July this year, and caught the eye of Dayo Adeshina, President of the Nigeria LPG Association, NLPGA. They are currently in talks about trying out LAS in the country later on.
Since he only attends classes thrice a week, he is able to give his business the time it needs to grow. Evans is a car enthusiast, and to unwind, he attends as many car events as he can. He als enjoys taking drives in the countryside.
