At this point, I’m not sure I’ll be able to can any longer with the names of new Nigerian startups. First, we saw Kolanuts (that’s for movie listings in Nigerian cinemas) and now? Now we have have – wait for it – Jangilova (No, it has nothing to do with primary school playground swing sets).
Jangilova is a service that connects people who want to watch TV or play video games with people who are willing to play host to them. If you’re thinking this idea sounds little bit like Airbnb, you’re right. Jangilova is basically Airbnb for TV (or video games, or whatever).
According to 19 year-old founders, Richard Ogundiya and Tolu Yussuff , “Jangilova offers you the cheapest and most convenient ways to enjoy your free time without hassle around your city. We allow bars, viewing centres and other public places or ventures post exclusive listings that are screen-related.”
How it works is users – both hosts and guests – set up profiles that contain relevant information (name, location, gender, etc). After that, they can begin to connect to the network. Hosts create listings containing information on what they’d like to share including location, number of seats available, time and date. The host is then notified (by email) once a guest joins a listing after which they can either accept or deny the request (probably after going through the guest’s profile).
If you’re worried about safety (because God knows there be all sorts of people out there), the Jangilova team conducts background checks on users. After signing up, users are required to build a comprehensive profile that consists of a profile picture, bio, phone number, address and social media accounts. The team then carries out email and phone number verifications.
Tolu says, “Safety is very important and has been the major concern with Jangilova. I can assure you that the basic verification methods put in place greatly reduce the security risks to users – unverified users don’t have access to the listing page and messaging system. Before accepting a request on the messaging system, a verified user has a pic to show he/she has been verified. Also, you can check the info provided by a verified user such as the his/her social media accounts. At the end of the day the choice is yours. You can choose to decline or accept the request.”
For Jangilova, the goal is to be Africa’s largest community driven company. “Asides significantly saving our users money or stress, Jangilova buddies get to make new friends, meet potential business partners and conveniently view the best contents on TV,” says Richard.
