"I got so much interested in tech, I was this close to getting few circuit boards online via Alibaba till I discovered I couldn't make any purchase. Definitely had something to do with getting a dollar card."

This was a reply to one of my questions in a conversation I had with Olarinoye Ashraf, founder of ShoppleVerse a few days back.

Okay, maybe I better take you back to how it all started.

Some weeks back, I got a LinkedIn message from Olarinoye Ashraf. He's been a connection of mine for some months now. He reached out to me, wanting to spread the gospel about a blockchain project he's building which is also set to launch soon.

"ShoppleVerse?" I typed even before he fully explained himself. I guess I was forward because the truth is that ShoppleVerse has been on my radar of interesting African blockchain projects I wish to write on. It's like our thoughts aligned.

More clarity and then we were scheduled to have a call which was more like a friendly conversation.

Last Sunday evening, while everyone was wrapping up their weekend, Ashraf and I had an enlightening conversation.

Pleasantries exchanged, I set the stage with my first question, "what is ShoppleVerse?"

"ShoppleVerse is a web-based decentralized e-commerce platform powered by blockchain technology from which users can buy or sell goods either from Shoppleverse using listed cryptocurrencies." Ashraf was strategic in replying. To a layman, ShoppleVerse is your regular online marketplace but with unique differences brought about by blockchain tech.

Curiosity led to to fire my next question (in a friendly way though😂) which was "ShoppleVerse is decentralized in what sense?" He then went further to explain that ShoppleVerse is decentralized in regards to direct crypto payment for goods without a third party payment gateway. This makes everything transparent on the blockchain and much more secure.

ShoppleVerse is coined from "Shop" and "Verse." The "Shop" coming from the fact that it is an online store and the "Verse" coming from the conclusion which the team made about integrating metaverse technology.

Brace yourself people, we might soon be wearing VR glasses to shop online😎

Now this 👇 was the part that got me. I am of the belief that visionary founders, most of the time, have personal experiences that somehow birthed the idea of their projects. Well, Ashraf proved me right once again when he shared his own personal experience that got him pregnant with ShoppleVerse.

"Had a rough childhood growing. Skipped classes alot of times due to school fees and somehow I just got so much interested in tech, learning and improving my skills daily.

I got so much interested that I came across IOT, which involved Arduino. I was this close to getting few circuit boards online via Alibaba till I discovered I couldn't make any purchase.

It definitely had something to do with getting a dollar card and I just couldn't go out of my reach considering the banking system we have in Nigeria and the uncertainty it would even work.

It was from there it really started."

Inspiring isn't it?

Okay, here's another thing. I'm also of the belief that any web3 project without actual utility and solution wouldn't last because, while the hype can get you customers, utility will determine if those customers will stay.

With this in mind, I tend to ask founders I interview this question: "what problem does your project solve?" Ashraf wasn't left out as I asked him the same.

In response, he outlined three important problems he observed which he's building ShoppleVerse to serve as a solution to:

1. To shop online, shoppers are always required to use fiat currencies as payment options, and even converting crypto to fiat currencies presents some hurdles like conversion fees.

2. Local online payment methods run into issues like delay in payment reflections, card limits, etc.

3. It's usually difficult to sell & buy products online using crypto.

These are some of the problems Ashraf believes that ShoppleVerse will solve.

I also asked him what early challenges he faced when building ShoppleVerse and he highlighted these three:

1. Getting the right team to build something unique like ShoppleVerse at the very early stage. He mentioned that there was series of team members leaving which caused some setbacks then.

2. He also mentioned the issue of UX. "Creating a seamless and user-friendly experience is critical for e-commerce. Balancing the advantages of blockchain with a smooth user interface can be tricky," he said.

3. Marketplace Functionality: creating essential features like product listings, search, reviews, and ratings, while ensuring decentralization, can be complex.

Like every other founder, Olarinoye Ashraf too has a long term vision for ShoppleVerse which he said was to "dominate the e-commerce industry with decentralization in Africa as a whole and scale to other compatible chains. Particularly to build a strong user base with notable transactions."

Rounding up our discussion, Ashraf revealed that ShoppleVerse is set to launch this month or early next month. So if you're haven't heard about it before now, this is the time to DYOR and get involved in the evolution of e-commerce as an early believer. He shared with me the ShoppleVerse whitepaper which I was permitted to share with you reading this.

You can learn more about ShoppleVerse here as well.

It's a wrap dear readers!!!

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