Fixit45, a Nigerian company, has launched a one-stop shop for car owners

Fixit45, a Nigerian startup, has launched its one-stop-shop platform for car owners, connecting them with a variety of necessary services.

Fixit45’s current iteration was released in July of last year, but the business and model have evolved over the last two years or so.

“So, before Fixit45 became a standalone brand with its own set of leaders and shareholders, a semblance of the business existed when I led a division within Cars45 called GoMechanic45,” co-founder Bemigho Awala told Disrupt Africa.

“This was essentially based on the acquisition of my first startup, Carido, an auto-tech aggregation platform that connects end-users with certified mechanics to facilitate vehicle repair and maintenance.”

Cars45 liked what we were doing, and they approached us for an acquisition because they wanted to expand their presence in the automotive space and cater to the post-purchase or aftermarket segment. All in all, the marriage was a good match.”

Awala formed a partnership with GoMechanic of India at Cars45, which gave birth to GoMechanic45.

“At the time, that was an exciting model to work on.” “However, with a broader and more holistic view of the market and its pain points, it made sense to spin off a completely different entity, which is now known as Fixit45,” he explained.

Fixit45, which was co-founded by Justus Obaoye and Abdulazeez Ogunjobi, allows car owners to connect and interact with a wide range of aftermarket stakeholders, including a vast network of automobile service providers, specialized technical teams, spare parts suppliers, and end-users. According to Awala, the startup fills a significant void.

“When it comes to Nigeria’s automotive market space in general, and the aftermarket segment, which is everything that happens after a user takes ownership of a car, the industry has been defined by an absence of normalcy, a lack of regulation and trust, fake and counterfeit spare parts, short of saying that the condition of that space is broken,” he said.

“Also, this is a vertical that is heavily reliant on technical competencies, but for some reason, we haven’t seen infrastructure that aids in the production of quality and competent operators.” All of these factors add up to make automotive ownership, whether for individuals or corporations, a frustrating experience.”

He won’t reveal any figures, but he says user adoption has been “fantastic.” Investors have clearly found the startup appealing, with Launch Africa Ventures among Fixit45’s pre-seed backers, and Awala stating that it plans to do another follow-on raise this year.

The startup is currently active in six Nigerian cities and plans to expand into another African market soon, while in November it expanded its service offering by acquiring Parkit, a network of tech-enabled autocare and car wash centers.