# DIREKT Product Vision

## Vision

Create Zambia’s most dependable way to discover local service providers by making identity, qualifications, operating location and marketplace conduct easier to verify and understand.

## Mission

DIREKT gives legitimate providers a credible digital presence and gives customers evidence-backed information before direct contact. It does not promise that every service outcome will be good; it improves the information, accountability and response mechanisms surrounding the decision.

## Problem statement

A person needing urgent plumbing, electrical, mechanical or other local help may rely on word of mouth, social media posts, unstructured messaging groups or open directories. These channels can expose customers to:

- fabricated identities and qualifications;
- stale contact and location information;
- middlemen misrepresenting providers;
- unclear responsibility when something goes wrong;
- fake or unrelated reviews;
- limited recourse after direct contact.

At the same time, legitimate small and informal providers may lack websites, searchable addresses or a practical way to show evidence of credibility.

## Product promise

DIREKT helps users find nearby providers and see:

- what the provider says they offer;
- where and how they operate;
- what DIREKT checked;
- when the check was completed and when it expires;
- what DIREKT did not check;
- how previous platform-tracked customers reviewed the interaction;
- how to report inaccurate or unsafe information.

## Primary audiences

- individuals and households;
- small businesses seeking local trades;
- property managers and institutions seeking providers;
- sole traders and informal providers;
- registered businesses and professional firms;
- verification, support and field-operations teams.

## Strategic pillars

1. **Reliable local discovery** — service-area and premises information designed for Zambia’s addressing realities.
2. **Evidence-backed trust** — scoped checks, expiry and auditability.
3. **Provider inclusion** — legitimate informal providers can establish credibility without needing a sophisticated website.
4. **Operational accountability** — enquiries, reviews, complaints and enforcement remain connected.
5. **Mobile resilience** — native Android design for varied devices and connectivity.
6. **Transparent economics** — provider payments fund visibility and operations but cannot purchase trust.

## What DIREKT is not

- a government registry;
- a guarantee of workmanship;
- an emergency service;
- a lending, insurance or escrow product in Version 1;
- a generic social network;
- an unrestricted classifieds board;
- an iOS product in Version 1;
- a system that publishes private verification documents.

## Five-year direction

Subject to evidence, DIREKT may expand from tightly controlled provider categories and areas into broader Zambian coverage, institutional procurement tools, deeper credential integrations and a native iOS client. Geographic expansion beyond Zambia requires a new legal, verification and localization model rather than copying the Zambia implementation unchanged.
