Startup Profile: Whitespaces

Mark Afolabi is a graduate of Food Science and Technology (FST) from the Federal University of Technology Akure.

However, when you look at him now, in terms of the operations of the Tech start-up he runs, there is no food involved (Apart from the one he eats), maybe there is a little science but the technology is dominant.
Mark is the co-founder for Whitespaces, a tech start-up that also houses a creative agency. They develop affordable and innovative technological solutions to everyday problems across diverse industries. The company also specialises in providing creative and cost effective web, mobile apps development solutions and company branding.

 

The brand name, Whitespaces began when the team started work on building solutions around the unused broadcasting frequencies in the wireless spectrum – The spaces between channels for buffering purposes which is similar to what is used for 4G and can be used to deliver widespread broadband internet. On the long run the company branched into other solutions and retained the name, expanding the thought to mean contributing solutions to all levels and social ecosystems.

 

“Our Job is to look for the pain-points of industry players and create a distinctively tailored solution to the problem” – Mark Afolabi

 

Whitespaces enjoy breaking new horizons by innovating solutions that are tailored to the needs of their clients and prospective customers. Mark says they have gotten to this stage by taking risks: the successes are cumulative efforts of failures.

 

 

 

“Every time I have tried to start something and failed, it has always been a stepping stone for me to get higher- Mark Afolabi.”

For now, Mark says his energy is being channeled into more of business development. In his words “You need money to develop the dream…What is the good of developing something excellent (of value) that people can’t buy?”

In context, he means it’s also important for the business side of any tech start up to receive maximum attention.

 

Yes, Segun Fagbami is the co-founder in Whitespaces. He does more of Graphics and handles majority of the product designs for the company. Segun is quiet and does not do a lot of talking; it took me time to even know he was a major player in the brand. Interestingly, these days we find technology Start-ups that have varying level of social interaction – the outgoing and the reserved. Smiles.

In terms of services offered, Whitespaces has the following services and products: Urban Walls, dropHive and Qualify. Urbanwalls is a design agency that handles a list of options including graphics, branding, product design etc. DROPHIVE is a ‘financial discipline’ platform. It is a saving application that encourages individuals to save effortlessly from the comfort of their room. Qualify provides affordable access to the best certification courses, partnering with top organizations to offer courses online.

 

Whitespaces officially began in November 2016, and in the next five years Mark says they want to be a major player in delivering cutting edge solutions in Energy and Education.

People say the journey of a thousand steps begin with a step, Whitespaces have begun with a leap…from what I have seen, the future is bright.