An app to facilitate business growth during the pandemic  

In these challenging times, businesses have been shuttered and shattered. So people have to find innovative ways to stay ahead of the curve or simply stay afloat.  

Law governs and regulates virtually all aspects of the business process, from the right to engage in a business or trade, to the legal form of a business, to agreements for buying and selling merchandise or rendering services. 

It also regulates the quality of products sold and the advertising of products for sale. And governs the employment relationship, protects business property, and taxes business income. 

Impartial World is an app and web platform that enables businesses and individuals benefit from the Law through access to professional legal services and are now restructuring their platforms to include more white-collar and blue-collar services.

Nile Post’s Philip Matogo spoke Impartial World’s Operations Manager Mr. Martin Oneka on how this done. 

Q: Hello Mr. Oneka, please tell us how a business accessing legal information on its rights and the availability of legal services can help it grow?

A: The law gives guidelines on how society which of course includes the business should operate. Having access to legal information or services helps entrepreneurs know how to establish their businesses for example the registration process and the legal requirements , a business owner will understand how taxation works, which taxes to pay and the ones not to pay, for larger businesses, shareholders are protected from any internal disputes and where there’s need for compensation from say copyright infringement, over taxation and the like. All these legal frameworks help safeguard individual rights and business interests that contribute to its growth.

 Q: Your app helps businesses access over 700 registered law firms and 5000 lawyers. How is this done? 

A: Philip, not to mislead the readers, we currently have 25 law firms and 106 lawyers registered on our platform. However we believe that as we scale, more will sign up. How this is done is that a lawyer can sign up and add their details, for example, what areas of practice they specialize in, email, phone number, location and most importantly their practicing certificate which is like a license issued by the Law Council to allow they represent clients in court. They then can do the same for their law firms but instead of a practicing certificate, they’ll be required to upload the certificate of approval of chambers which is an equivalent of a business license for law firms. Once this information is approved, the lawyers and their law firms will appear on the map and list where users can start engaging them directly.

 

Q: Walk us through how the app works.  

A: Well it’s pretty simple, for devices that run on Android system, you can download the Impartial World App on Google Play Store, and for those on iOS, the App Store. Sign up by filling in your name, phone number or email and finally your password and you’re in. You are then redirected into the home page with different services listed. Let’s use the legal services since it’s the one that’s currently active, a user can; 1. Have a one-on-one chat with a lawyer and get legal advice. 2. Find a lawyer within their radius. 3. Find a law firm of their choosing and find a legal service. We also have some blogs about different legal matters and short info-videos. The process is the same on our website https://impartialworld.com/ 

Q: Lawyers have not yet appreciated the digital transformation underway in Africa; won’t this adversely impact your app? 

A: On the contrary, lawyers have and are rapidly adopting to the digital transformation in Africa, several lawyers all over Africa have appreciated this digital transformation and are now providing legal services, digitally. Take for example the online platform LawPadi established in 2015 by a Nigerian lawyer Babatunde Ibidapo-Obe which informs Nigerians of their rights and duties, Legal Legends and PopLaw in South Africa. If we bring it closer to home, we have Barefoot Law, Legal Hub, Uganda Law Society’s Pulida Wo App etc. Before the Covid-19 disruption, Ugandan lawyers organized the Annual Legal Tech Conference in March 2019, most recently, there was the Africa Legal Tech Conference from 5th to 9th of July which was virtual organised by Lawyers Hub Kenya where Ugandan Legal Tech enthusiasts like Robert Kirunda were talking about bitcoin, blockchain and crypto currencies, and smart contracts and so on. We saw even the High Court trying cases digitally. So the point I’m trying to put across is that lawyers have warmed up to the digital transformation and have welcomed platforms like Impartial World that are bringing clients closer to them.

 

Q: Your app seeks to level the ground on economic and social inequalities by creating a platform accessible to the public. Please tell us your vision in this regard.  

A: As we all know, this pandemic has increased unemployment levels the world over, many individuals especially in the informal sector have lost their jobs or clients due to restrictions in movement, some do not know how to keep in touch or expand their client base. It is our vision that through our platform, service providers like lawyers will be able to stay in touch with clients and actually get more business, once we onboard other services like, accountants, medical, mechanics etc. more business will be created and this will help close the socio-economic gaps in our society,

Q: You’ve been in business for 2 years, what other plans will you roll out in order to stay relevant? 

A: It’s true we’ve been in business for close to two years now, we started out as a legal tech platform and now we are transforming into a professional service/gig platform. This is a continuous process that’s evolves with the times. The Impartial World we launched last October is different from the Impartial World we shall be launching to the public soon. I’m sure next year, we shall have another tweak to our platforms to give our users the best experience.