The evolution of social media has been one of the fastest phenomena in the IT industry due to the persistent innovations. The competition in the industry has given users the thirst to demand more advanced social media platforms that meet their business, professional and personal needs. Familheey Application is a social media platform that has a chance to be in the top 3 of your favorite social media platforms in the near future.

In this interview, Ken Chinweze, the co-founder of Familheey tells Daily Trust about the abundant, interactive, competitive and beneficial features that meet the daily needs of social media users on the app. In its own words, Familheey is deemed to be the “WhatsApp of tomorrow”

What is the Familheey app?

Familheey is founded by three technology enthusiasts namely; Ken Chinweze, Angela Chinweze and Ajith Nair in a company called MY FAMILY GROUP in Houston, USA. We started it two years ago with the idea of ​​getting communities to connect and engage with it. People get to know each other; they can get engaged; they can do a lot of different things. It’s a bit different type of application than the one generally used. It is more specific and has various characteristics that would allow any group or family to do what they want to do within the community they create. You and I can form a community and bring people together so that we have what we want.

What inspired Familyheey and what is the goal?

It started as a journey that started alongside other co-founders. We want to bring families together so they can connect, reach out and do more. The unique aspect of this is that different communities and religious groups use this app and have found it useful. We look forward to engaging any other groups we can meet who would find this very helpful.

How has the trip and sponsorship been so far?

It was a fair course and we hope to rise to it. That’s why we need to get more people from the African community to use it, because it’s very engaging.

You mentioned that the app started 2 years ago, so during that time what challenges did you face?

COVID has been a big challenge for us. Although we were trying to make very good use of COVID, we weren’t able to get the job started the way we wanted because people aren’t using the app. Like any startup you have demands and we try to be everything to everyone and now we realize we can’t be so we have to be specific.

Since the application is virtual, how has COVID hindered its progress?

When we first started we expected to go to a place like Lagos where we can meet people and connect with them and tell them what’s going on but with the advent of COVID it has slowed that down. momentum. When COVID took hold this could not be done. We have, however, used COVID to establish different families. We have a request module, like if you need a face mask, we used it to give a face mask to the people of Houston [USA] region. What we are doing is making a request for thousands of masks. So if you donate it, you can follow to see the progress. What we’ve done is go to some churches and advertise it.

The Familheey logo indicates that it ‘connects, engages and grows’ can you tell us more about this?

There is a uniqueness about this app. You can log in there and stay private and no one will know you are there. But, if you open it, if I contact you, we can connect and grow. So we have those flexibilities. The most important thing is that when you start using this app, you find that it answers a lot of questions for you. It brings together people with the same goals. People can use it for their work, business or personal use. You can upload documents and create events. People also use it in schools, especially in the eastern part of the world like India, Pakistan, they use it to teach children.

According to your statistics, where do most of your users come from?

Because one of the co-founders is an Indian, we started the base in India and developed it from India as well. He was able to touch the people there. My goal is to come to Africa and spread the app. So people can see the benefits and get involved.

What is the future of Famiiheey in Nigeria, Africa and the world?

That’s what I’m working on to spread the word. It’s on the cutting edge of social media and it serves the purpose you intended. You know that Africa is community. You can send your messages to villages, churches and groups. We look forward to reaching out to everyone who has a cell phone so they can use it in their villages. This has already been done in some parts of India.

Can users link the app to Google Docs?

We are working on this because the app already contains features that allow users to create events, upload documents and albums, giving you the ability to store your albums and events for years to come. If you are in a community that uses minutes, you can write down your minutes, upload them there for your community members to read, and they can also copy them.

How is Familyheey funded?

At the moment, we fund it ourselves. We have a good and strong management team and we are doing our best. We have been operating it for two years. It was not easy like any beginning. No one wants to invest in you until they see the benefits. All we do is show people the advantage and it becomes attractive.

Where do you see Familyheey in the next five years?

In five years, I hope and I work to create a WhatsApp of tomorrow. We hope to bring Familheey to the position WhatsApp holds today because we believe it has the potential to achieve it.

What more do you want to say about the app?

It all depends on the uniqueness of the application. It’s friendly, it’s very organized and structured and it corresponds to the framework, the state of mind and the African people. They can use it low level and high level however they want. This app is user friendly. In 2020, we had a photographic competition but it was oriented towards India, Bangladesh and very little Africa. They gave us the opportunity to see what other communities are made of. This time due to COVID we weren’t able to do a big part, but this year we are. This is a platform for you to tell us about your community. We therefore hope to attract participants from different parts of the world. The reward is around $2000 for best and $1000 for second, $500 for third and $250 for next and we’ll be looking at 10 winners.

What last word do you have for start-up owners?

The road is always bumpy, there are ups and downs. You have to be resistant and be passionate about what you do because the challenges are enormous unless you are very lucky. One aspect that holds us back is the financial aspect. Without money, you can’t go anywhere.