Adeyemi Ifaturoti is an aspiring entrepreneur whose autocare startup aims to provide computerized diagnostic services, automobile repairs and mechatronics training to residents of Osogbo, Osun state.
Osogbo, the capital and commercial center of Osun state is where Adeyemi Ifaturoti comes from and also where he is working to establish a thriving business which will provide a much needed service to the current and future vehicle owners in his state. Adeyemi’s venture, Autolines Garages was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in 2015 with the vision to be a leading provider of efficient and affordable auto care services in Nigeria. He birthed the dreams for his business based on his personal experiences with untrained mechanics and sub-standard autocare service providers in Osogbo and its environs. He says that even though automobile owners complain of these same problems in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, he believes that the gap is much wider to meet the growing demand of the target population in Osun which according to his findings is about 7,000 vehicle owners. Often times, guess work is done for auto repair diagnosis and crude methods are carried out for repairs causing more damage and reducing the life time value of the vehicle.
By prioritizing the critical needs of the target market which are reliability and convenience, the business aims capture a market share of 30% within 24 months of operations. To address the human capital gaps in the business and also address issues regarding youth unemployment in Osogbo, Adeyemi’s focus includes establishing a mechatronics academy to train auto technicians in vehicle repairs and maintenance work particularly through the use of new technology systems.
Adeyemi started on the path to entrepreneurship as an undergraduate student of Estate Management in the University of Ibadan when he ran an on campus shuttle business for two (2) years. Having to oversee a driving and mechanic team made him develop a strong interest not just in the autocare service line and also gave him a better appreciation of managing people while running a business. He is also pursuing an auto diagnosis course to become a certified auto diagnostician who can work on any vehicle including cars, SUVs and Trucks.
In 2015, Adeyemi enrolled in the FATE Foundation Aspiring Entrepreneurs Programme 53 class to deepen his knowledge about starting up his business. According to him, the AEP programme has helped him better articulate his business idea and develop an operational business plan. The sessions about Innovation and Creativity with Seye Amusa helped him understand and think through the need for building strategic alliances within the value chain of his business ecosystem. The finance classes also gave him hands on knowledge of financial literacy and helped him develop his first year startup costs and 3-year financial projections.
Despite the challenge of starting and running a business in Nigeria, Adeyemi is very optimistic about his goals. His focus in this last two years have been to get the business knowledge and technical know-how to develop a business model that will take advantage of the low-penetration and high-growth nature of his business idea. With the right computerized diagnostic equipments and tools in place and a team of technical professionals in place including himself, he intends to commence full time operations in December 2016.
Adeyemi’s dream is that in the next five (5) years, Autoline Garages will have full scale operations in three areas of Osogbo particularly Ajegunle, Okefia, Olorunsogo. He also hopes to have graduated about 80-100 youths from his mechatronics training academy.