Innovative South African SME Offers Online At Home Car Service

Michanic, is an innovative “Uber-like” technology platform that brings qualified and trustworthy car mechanics right to your doorstep, at a time that fits into your own daily schedule.

The brainchild of South African entrepreneur, Lesetja Dikgale, Michanic has begun to disrupt the automotive repair industry by providing an online offering that takes the hassle out of car repairs. The platform allows customers to receive an all-inclusive quote online within a few clicks – Michanic is the only company on the continent that is capable of providing this. Customers can have their car serviced at any convenient location, whether it’s at home, at work or even anywhere in between. Fancy a cup of coffee? Arrange to meet them at your local coffee shop, and, while you sip on a skinny Latte your car will get the attention it requires. Michanic has been approved by the Retail Motor Industry Association (RMI) so you can rest assured that their mobile mechanics are suitably qualified.

Michanic was founded as Car Care Click in 2016 and in that year it was selected as one of the top 20 start-ups from over 170 competitors in Google’s Developer Launchpad Programme – a global acceleration program that helps innovative technologically start-ups build and achieve scale by matching them with the best of Google’s people, networks and technologies.

After receiving seed funding from Investment Manager, Praesidium Capital Management, the business launched officially in February 2018 after years of development. Michanic has since gone from strength to strength, progressively growing its platform to cover over 90% of the Gauteng area and a growing customer base in the Western Cape. Already with over 12 000 monthly visitors to its’ site, Michanic has future plans to Kwa-Zulu Natal in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Michanic, whose platform conveniently matches carefully selected and qualified mechanics with customers in their area, has positioned itself perfectly for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Utilising a data-first approach on its’ user-friendly interface to pair up suppliers and customers in real- time; it seems that customers love this level of service and convenience. Michanic’s customer centric DNA is evident as it is rated in the top 5 service providers in the automotive industry sector on HelloPeter and has an excellent customer rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on Google reviews.

The MD and Founder, Lesetja Dikgale, believes that the traditional automotive repair industry is ripe for disruption. Antiquated industry service models are no longer streamlined with the convenience of customers and anti-competitive pricing leaves customers at the mercy of ruthless big-name dealerships. Michanic places customer convenience above all else and has found success in taking the hassle and the extra costs out of car maintenance. Even in a tough economic environment, the platform has managed to grow its network and client base significantly by always having a client-centric approach. Constantly adding new features to make it even easier for its customers to receive the best service possible, Michanic now offers features such as pay on credit (instalments), pensioner discounts and a fresh new web app.

Perhaps most importantly of all, in a struggling South African economy, the growth of this innovative technological business has directly created over 30 much-needed job opportunities for mechanics and support staff, including many female mechanics and female support technicians. As it grows, Michanic is looking to hire many more young and hungry professional South Africans, with plans to grow its partner mechanics to over 2000 qualified and vetted mechanics.