Nigerian tech startup LegitCar has launched a database of cars in Nigeria that have been reported as stolen, with functionality built into the database that allows prospective car buyers to check whether the vehicle they wish to purchase is listed as stolen.
Using the vehicle identification number or chassis number, which is unique for each vehicle, the system determines whether the car in question is legitimate, or whether it has been flagged as missing or stolen, as reported by Disrupt Africa.
Vincent Okeke, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of LegitCar explains the value of the LegitCar mobile app, which is available on the Apple App Store or via Google Play for Android phones.
“Everyday people’s cars go missing, here in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world. These cars are forcefully taken away from people at gunpoint or they just disappear from the parking lots. Our solution was developed to prevent this resale from happening,” said Okeke, according to Disrupt Africa.
“We sincerely believe that if we make it impossible for stolen cars to be resold, with time we will be making that line of business unattractive for thieves, and as such make our world a little bit safer,” he added.
In development since September of 2016, LegitCar makes money by charging a small fee to clients who want to double-check the legitimacy of the car they wish to buy.
LegitCar is in the process of building a database of all missing cars in Nigeria, with parameters such as car condition, car verification, car history, and theft and ownership status included in the database, according to Techpoint.
Owners of cars that have been stolen or are missing can also use the company’s website to register their car as stolen.
If searches result in a car determined to be stolen, they will be able to view the information of the original owner, allowing them to reunite the owner with their missing or stolen car, which may result in a cash reward.
Okeke revealed that his tech startup had attracted “considerable interest” from investors over the last year.
“Since we launched our demo in September, we have learnt a lot and improved on our services further. Our short term and long term goals are a couple of services which we will introduce around our core services. This will ensure the continuous growth of the business,” he told Disrupt Africa.
“Due to the scalability of what we do, we will expand into a few other countries in the next couple of years.”
