Last time when I was in the Gambia I was also shooting a virtual tour of the head office of the GCCI, the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It was then and there, that I got introduced to Hassan Jallow, founder and chief software architect of Assutech.
It turned out that Hassan Jallow and his team at Assutech were developing an app for the Gambian market for both owners of real estate as well as people looking to rent a house or apartment.
Together we developed the idea of shooting virtual tours for the apartments to include these in the app as well, in addition to still photos. The latter are always taken, overlooking the nicest parts of a house or apartment, whereas it’s difficult to hide something on a 360º virtual tour.
Hassan quickly arranged three apartments, which we visited and shot a virtual tour at. Below you’ll be able to virtually walk through one of the apartments:
On april 27th, Assutech won the People’s Choice Award at a pitching contest of the GCCI in collaboration with the Startup Incubator Gambia and the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP).
Because of this success, the app was also submitted for the Most Innovative Business Concept Award 2017, an initiative of the GCCI, the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Great was the joy of team Assutech, when they were awarded this precious award, that they received from the Secretary General himself, the honorary mr. Dawda Jawara:
I recently interviewed Hassan about the DEKA app. The questions we covered, were:
Can you please tell us a bit more about Assutech: when and how it started, what you guys are doing and maybe also about some projects you’ve done in the recent past?- You’ve recently been awarded with the Most Innovative Business Concept of the year by the GCCI, the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
- This was for your new mobile application DEKA, which facilitates the search for houses and apartments in the Gambia. Can you tell us about how you got the idea in the first place and what the app will do? In order words: which “problem” is being addressed / solved by this app?
- Why would people use DEKA to market their apartments, condos or houses and also why would people want to use DEKA to find real estate, instead of AirBNB for example?
- What makes the app stand out from the rest of the submitted business concepts?
- Which obstacles did you encounter while developing the app, if you like to share these with the viewers / listeners? Did you for example suffer from scope creep?
- At what stage in the project did you get the idea to submit it?
- When and how did you hear that your DEKA app was nominated?
- Can you tell us a bit more about the official event?
- Do you have tips for other young entrepreneurs who like to participate next year?
- And of course: when will we be able to download the DEKA app from the App Store or the Play Store?
All questions are answered in the video below:
The moment the DEKA app goes live (most likely within a few weeks from now), I’ll let you know here on the site.
If you have any questions regarding the DEKA app or about virtual tours for real estate, feel free to leave a comment below!
Well done Assan and his team. I have met him in person and he is very smart fellow.
How does one list their property on the App?
Thanks Ibrahim. We will share the method of uploading properties before the official launching. I’ll keep you updated.