Working Lives: The Phone Engineers of Saka Tinubu
Someone in our team wanted to fix a Samsung Galaxy Note that seemed to have taken in some water after a visit to the beach. He thought the best thing to do was to take it to a certified Samsung workshop. It was a top end phone that he had used for about two years. His expectation had an unhappy collision with reality. A lady at one of the Samsung (approved) repair centres casually told him that he should just get a new phone as the cost of replacing the “board” was N180,000! He has more faith in Samsung products than the Samsung approved workshop- he was sure just a little bit of water could not have damaged a phone advertised as water resistant. He made some enquiries and was directed to a “phone engineer” at the Computer Village Saka Tinubu who “blew out” the liquid in 20 minutes. For the grand sum of N5,000, the Galaxy Note was restored to life. We decided to speak to four “engineers” in the ICT products hub at Saka Tinubu in Victoria Island Lagos.
The Engineer Who Invests in a Cocoa Farming
Adepoju Ifeoluwa – Shop 17, Computer Village, Saka Tinubu
“I use the auto save feature on PiggyVest and it automatically deducts this amount from my bank account monthly”.
Where are you from?
I am from Abeokuta in Ogun State. I was born and brough up there.
Tell me a little bit about your education.
I only have the secondary school leaving certificate. After my secondary school education, I came to Lagos to live with my older sister in 2010. She just got married then.
Tell us about your family
My dad is a cab driver back home in Abeokuta; my mom sells petty things just beside the house. I have 5 siblings and I am the second child. I come from that type of family where the older ones take over from their parents to carter for the younger ones. When it got to my turn, I had to come down to Lagos to hustle.
Where did you learn to become a phone engineer and for how long?
I learnt the trade under my boss who had a shop in the popular Computer Village in Ikeja. I trained under him for about 5 years. My boss had a thriving business selling phone accessories. So apart from learning to repair phones, I was also busy selling accessories.
What did the training consist of?
Nothing serious. It is not rocket science. You just watch and learn. The boss also explains what he is doing. You ask questions about anything you don’t understand. Anyone can learn to repair phones by observing and asking questions. You become an expert when you keep learning over 4 to 5 years.
When did you start repairing phones on your own?
I started learning in 2010 and I left my boss in 2015. This is when I started repairing phones on my own. I was planning to get my own shop in Ikeja but I ended up moving to Saka Tinubu. I moved to Saka Tinubu because Ikeja was too rough for my liking, it is more calm over here and of course to whole “island” cruise, you get to meet more high end customers.
How much did you first invest in the business?
I invested N100,000. My boss was paying me a stipend of N2,000- N3,000 weekly, so I was able to save from that. I was also doing small repairs for my friends, mainly changing phone screens and other hardware. I had a total of N175,000 in savings. My sister’s husband also gave me N50,000. I had N125, 000 left after starting my own business. I invested in an aluminum shelf, also bought an air conditioner and other minor things to set the shop up.
How has the market changed compared with when you started?
Gadgets and spare parts are now more expensive. The market is also bigger now and there are more phone engineers. Ten years ago, people used to take their phones back to where they bought them for repairs. But now, the market for selling phones is mostly distinct from the market for repairing them.
Where do you get your spare parts from?
It depends on how much I have and the volume I am buying. When I am not buying so much, I go to the Computer Village in Ikeja; there are many dealers selling spare parts there. But when I am buying a lot, I order direct from China. Most phone engineers buy spare parts from China. We also buy from Hong Kong but China is the main market.
Also Read: Working Lives: The Engineer Who Studied Business Administration
What kind of repairs do people mostly come in for?
For me, most people come in for screen repairs. Especially iPhone and Samsung. And then apart from the usual screen repairs, some come in for minor hardware issue like speaker and mouth piece repair. People also bring in phones to us for drying after getting water in them. Charging port repair is also very common. Most people don’t know that they should not operate their phones while they are charging. It may damage the charging port and even the battery.
How is the depreciating naira affecting your business?
The dollar is the driver of our business. We need dollars to buy all the spare parts. The prices hardly change in China but once the naira loses value, we need more naira to buy the same items. An iPhone 6 screen that would normally cost about N6,000 to fix will now go for nothing less than N8,000-N10,000 depending on the customer’s negotiating vibe.
What are the most expensive spare parts?
The most expensive parts of a smartphone are its touch screen, processor and camera. If one of them is damaged, it might be better to buy a new phone. Especially if the screen is a Samsung screen, they are always very expensive.
Who is your typical customer?
The average Nigerian professional that comes in to fix his/her phone, especially screens.
Some people think phone engineers in markets spoil phones and others think they fix things the official phone workshops can’t fix. Why the difference in perception?
It is all based on experience, one bad experience from an engineer can tarnish the image of hundreds. There are some phone engineers out there that are not truthful, all they care about is just making money off the customer. It is important to patronize established phone repair workshops to avoid bad experiences.
How much do you make in a week?
In a good week, I make about N70,000 to N90,000. Sometimes I make more. It all depends on how people come in for repairs. I make more money from fixing screens compared to other kinds of repair. When things are slow, I make N40,000-N50,000.
Do you earn more from selling phones or from fixing phones?
I actually earn more from fixing phones for now. I also make good money from selling phones but I need to invest and expand the phone sales aspect of the business to make more money from it. I need at least N500,000 to buy a few phones to start with. I could get six iPhone X with that amount and I would get a profit of at least N20,000 or N30,000 from each after selling. I just need to keep reinvesting this profit.
How many hours do you work for in a day?
I work from 8am until 7pm, so that is basically 11 hours. Sometimes I even spend more hours if there is so much job to do. You know how customers are, they don’t want their phones spending the night at any engineer’s shop. So, I get to work late hours just to meet up with demand.
How much do you save?
I save N20,000-N35,000 every month. I use the auto save feature on PiggyVest and it automatically deducts this amount from my bank account monthly. I always have dollars with me because we buy in dollars from abroad. But I have not even for once thought of converting my savings to dollars or investing in dollar-dominated stocks. Now that you have mentioned it, I will start working towards it.
Do you have other investment or businesses?
Yes, I invested some money in a cocoa farm business early this year. So, I am hoping for a good return by the end of the year. If it comes out good, I will be gingered to invest more money in it. I invested N400,000 in it.
