Brothers seek to ease daily struggles through online mapping, rewards systems

AMMAN — After encountering daily difficulties, two Amman brothers used innovative problem-solving to fuel a two-branch project that ensures speedy deliveries and business growth. 

The first spark of an idea for young entrepreneur Naseeb Barakat and his brother Abdallah came in 2017 after repeated occurrences of delivery drivers losing their way and deliveries being taken to the wrong addresses, Naseeb told The Jordan Times in a recent phone interview.

Noticing that this was a widespread frustration, the brothers sketched out a digital mapping system that soon became NavCode, a mobile application that assigns a four-digit code to each precise location, with the aim of getting deliveries to the right place at the right time. 

“We wanted to solve the problem of getting lost,” he said.

The second branch of their project, Wafii, is a tool for businesses to achieve customer retention. It rewards repeat customers through a point system, similar to a punch card but on a digital platform, he explained. 

“We came up with it because we saw a lot of recurring business in the Kingdom, but we noticed that customers were not being rewarded directly,” the founder said.

 Naseeb was among several young entrepreneurs from around the Kingdom who met His Majesty King Abdullah early in November. During the meeting, His Majesty reaffirmed his keenness to support young Jordanians’ innovative projects, heard from the entrepreneurs and voiced pride in their achievements.

“It was an honour to meet His Majesty. It was great to see that he cares about youth and how start-ups can benefit the economy,” Naseeb said.

Both branches of the brothers’ business seek to do just that, according to the entrepreneur. Navcode, beyond just solving the problem of getting lost, has begun collaborating with hospitals to enhance the speed of emergency services, ensuring that ambulances reach the exact location of an emergency as fast as possible. 

“We have actually mapped out the whole globe with our algorithm. You could be in the middle of Wadi Rum, in the desert, and have a four-digit code, with a high degree of accuracy,” Naseeb said, highlighting NavCode’s vision to expand to other countries and hire local employees.

As for Wafii, a tablet application that records customer visits and offers businesses analytics on their sales, the aim is to serve not only customers, but also the coffee shops, restaurants and sweet shops that use it.

“We wanted to help improve the economic situation for businesses, because there are a lot of businesses that are complaining that sales have dropped, and their customers aren’t returning,” Naseeb said. “We’re working very closely with businesses to try and fix that using our system, and we’re very happy that it is actually working.”

Wafii has reached 35,000 users in the past six months “all organically”, he said, noting that the company does not employ advertising.

The app works by imputing the customers’ mobile numbers, also offering the shops a direct channel of communication with clients. 

“We also make sure that the businesses give good rewards,” he added, explaining that customers are encouraged to come often if they are rewarded quickly. This contributes to customer retention, allowing the businesses to “grow and sustain their growth”. 

Wafii is being implemented in a number of shops across the capital and Irbid, and is also looking to expand and begin hiring locals, Naseeb said.