LOCAL smartphone app Swifty promises to be the “light at the end of the tunnel”. The app was created by Alfina Nur Bashir, 24, and her husband, Emad Nurdin Morshidi, 26, two empathic entrepreneurs who aim to breathe life back into the fortunes of those who have lost their jobs after Covid-19 paralysed a huge part of the economy.
Although the two originally did not have experience in coding and computer science, they used YouTube and Udemy as their guide to build the app.
Despite having to put their lives on hold and endure many sleepless nights, finishing the app made it all worthwhile when it received an overwhelming response from the public after Alfina tweeted about it.
“Sacrificing everything was worth it, we still do not have time for ourselves even now,” she said. “We have around 6,000 people in the Klang Valley who have downloaded and signed up on the app.”
What is Swifty all about?
“Our app is a marketplace where you can find all types of local services. Our app resembles the Shopee platform, but instead of selling products, we offer around 100 categories of services.
“This app was created exclusively for Malaysians and it provides a platform for freelancers to do what they love, and they are able to upload their services in less than five minutes.
“We have two facets, Swifty Pro is for those who want to offer their services whereas Swifty was created specifically for those who want to engage services.
“We do not charge any sign-up fees or monthly subscriptions. Instead, we only charge 5% to 20% on fixed fees, and only if they have received orders.”
What challenges did you face when creating the app?
“Since we built this app from scratch, we took around four months to learn how to do coding everyday for 12 hours. After that, we launched Swifty Pro and Swifty on July 23 and Sept 7, respectively.
“We only have two people on our team, just me and my co-founder, so the amount of work was overwhelming since we didn’t have enough manpower.
“We also had a few delays last year because my dad had to undergo heart surgery, and I had to take care of him for about two months.”
What are the unique features of Swifty?
“We are one of the few [companies] in Malaysia to build a platform where you can view and select freelancers whom you want to work with.
“Another unique feature is you can chat with the freelancer if you have any requirements, or even call them for free through our app. You are also able to see their portfolio, [past] reviews and location.
“We have unique services as well, such as virtual companionship, birthday wishes and finding portraits. We give our freelancers the freedom to be as creative as they want.”
Are there any safety measures to protect users from scammers?
“Every user will need to upload an image of their MyKad before proceeding. We also do not expose the user’s phone number. But you are still able to call and text for free through this app without your number being revealed.”
What are your end goals for this app?
“For now, we are focusing on getting more partners; some of the existing partners that we have collaborated with are Hermo, Common Ground Works and KakiDIY.
“We aim for Swifty to be a local community for freelancers through rewards and we want to upskill our freelancers through workshops and programmes.
“We are also looking into expanding nationwide.”
