Kemi Dallass and Tokunboh Akindele, Co-Founders of FIFY, have identified “peace of mind” as the company’s central value proposition during their first live “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) session.
The event, themed “FIFY: Unfiltered”, marked the inaugural edition of the AMA series and was hosted by Archie Celestin. It attracted over 2,000 viewers across Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Dallass and Akindele shared the origins of FIFY, a business created to address the challenges of unreliable artisans and urgent home maintenance needs. The founders said the idea was sparked when Akindele faced an electrical fault at his home at 9 p.m. His usual technician declined to attend. Dallas then arranged for a technician from one of her company’s sites to fix the problem, which she described as proof of the need for an on-demand, round-the-clock service.
Akindele explained how the company’s philosophy, “Fix it Today, Not Tomorrow”, took shape. Drawing a comparison with Nigeria’s telecommunications industry in the early 1990s, he noted that technology has made immediate solutions possible. “Why do we have to sleep with the problem?” he asked, stressing that FIFY’s mission is to ensure solutions are available at customers’ fingertips.
The discussion also covered the company’s operational structure, which Akindele described as a “fire station” model. FIFY employs 50 staff members on a rotational schedule, including drivers, to ensure that technicians can be dispatched at any time of the day or night. Teams are often multi-skilled, comprising an electrician, a plumber, and a supervisor, enabling them to address several issues in a single visit and avoid delays caused by return calls.
Dallass outlined FIFY’s technician vetting process, which involves background checks by a third-party firm. These checks include verification of guarantors and are repeated every six months to maintain reliability and safety standards.
The AMA session also shed light on FIFY’s business growth and customer service strategy. The company is currently running a technology-led marketing campaign using animation to explain its services. While there are no immediate plans to expand outside Lagos, Dallass explained that future location choices will be guided by data, with a “plug and play” operational model enabling new branches, such as in Ikeja, to be launched within a month.
Customers can either pay a call-out fee for one-time emergencies or opt for subscription packages (Silver, Gold, or Platinum), which offer priority service. Akindele also addressed technician integrity, urging customers not to tip staff as they receive competitive pay and commissions, adding that referrals are the most valuable form of appreciation.
Closing the session, Akindele said, “We want to create a solution. We want to change the way Lagos thinks… providing a service that customers can basically look forward to.” The event ended with a renewed commitment to improving service delivery and an advert reinforcing the “peace of mind” message.
