Two university students have teamed up to introduce the new iPhone app, iFufu.
This smartphone app is the brainchild of talented developers Abraham Fokuo and Frank Asare, both third year students of KNUST. The idea behind the app is so breathtakingly simple. Yet the execution is so revolutionary that, with the right funding, it is set to change how everyone looks at fufu in Ghana.
How does the app work? It is simple. The user simply inputs all his preferences for the perfect bowl of fufu into the app's beautiful interface. At launch, options that can be specified will include:
Soup (light soup, palm nut soup, ground nut soup, abunuabunu)
Type of fufu (cassava, plantain, yam, any combination of these)
Four levels of fufu hardness (real soft, soft, hard, real hard)
Meat (goat, chicken, beef, fish, grasscutter, and eventually alligator – mampam nam)
Condiment (salt levels, pepper levels, akakaduro, special spices)
Garnish (okra, garden egg, spinach, cauliflower)
After selecting your order, you input a payment method – you can pay on delivery or enter your debit card number for cashless transactions. The developers promised that deliveries will be made within 15 minutes for any destination close to the Adum-KNUST route.
A quick look at the fufu industry informed him it was not so simple. Fufu was a traditional meal, and over time most people had developed specific preferences. He realized the regular mode of ordering – calling in and giving simple specifications – would not work.
This idea required a means of execution which would fit in seamlessly with existing chop bars and restaurants. Fokuo, who is a Computer Science student, realized he needed someone with the business skill to work out how they could integrate the service providers into their business model.
“I had the idea last year when my roommates and I ordered a pizza. It was a real light bulb moment. I just thought. Why can't we do this for the fufu industry?” – Abraham Fokuo, Developer, iFufu.
It was Frank who came up with the novel idea – create an app for it. And after a year of UI design, coding and recruiting chop bar operators as partners, they are ready to launch iFufu.
According to Fokuo, the main developer of the app, the idea was so simple that he almost rejected it. He thought someone would have done it by now. But a quick Google search informed him otherwise. Quickly, he got some money from a loan shark, recruited Frank, and the rest, as they say, is history. The team registered their company with the brand BoyzBoyzTech, and they've never looked back.
Frank Asare, the business man of the duo, also moonlights as a graphic designer. He is responsible for the slick user interface, and he had this to say about the app:
“Ever since the advent of chop bars, there hasn't been any revolution in the fufu industry, which happens to be a multi-million dollar industry. We are here to take a piece of that cake, while providing excellent services to Ghanaians. We deserve more.”
The developers also promised a fun mode, called the Randomizer. Just input how much you want to spend, shake the phone, and the app instantly makes your order for you. You never know whether it will give you yam fufu with alligator, or even vegetarian fufu with no meat!
So far, they have clinched a deal with 14 major chop bars and restaurants, and the number is growing. Their aim is to be able to cover the entire Kumasi by the end of this year, and move into newer markets.
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