When the founder of Kindlybook, Charles Dairo walked into a crowded barbershop one Sunday in 2020, he didn’t just see a long queue, he saw a problem waiting to be solved.
That moment sparked the journey that would evolve into Kindlybook, a booking platform now helping hundreds of Nigerian beauty businesses manage appointments and payments online.
“I started it as an experiment to test whether Nigerians would be willing to book services online and pay upfront,” Dairo told Techpoint Africa.
What You Should know
Dairo first attempted to solve the problem by building Rizevo, an app that allowed users to book and pay for services ahead of time. Despite its promise, six months after launch, no business had adopted it.
Rather than abandon the idea, he opened Haircot, an appointment-only barbershop powered by Rizevo. The goal: test whether Nigerians were ready to book and pay for services online.
“In just over 12 months, we proved that they would. We could have kept it going, but at the time I didn’t have the bandwidth or the capital to scale it alongside my main business, so we made the decision to close it,” Dairo revealed.
By 2024, however, Rizevo found new life. Businesses began signing up organically, leading to its rebrand as Kindlybook.
How Kindlybook Works
Since relaunch, nearly 500 businesses have joined Kindlybook. The startup says it is helping beauty salons move online at a time when smartphone usage and comfort with digital tools are higher than ever.
According to the team, Kindlybook offers a simple but powerful solution:
- Businesses create free accounts and set availability.
- Clients book through a shared link.
- Appointments sync automatically with calendars.
- Both parties get SMS and email reminders.
Customers confirm bookings with payments, and Kindlybook charges a 6% service fee, a rate the startup plans to reduce.
“These are time-based businesses,” Dairo explained. “We help the businesses collect their money upfront to ensure that clients are more invested in that appointment.”
Who Else Is in the Space
The Nigerian appointment-booking market is still young, but competition is emerging. Fresha, a global platform, is expanding locally, while Splice, is also a domestic rival.
Still, Dairo argues Kindlybook’s local presence, payment integration, and quick payouts give it an edge. To solve cash flow concerns, Kindlybook even created a float system, advancing payouts to businesses within six hours.
Nigeria’s beauty and personal care market has been growing steadily, with revenues projected to reach around $10.17 billion by 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7.8%.
Despite this growth, the industry remains largely informal. Experts say this gap highlights the potential for platforms like Kindlybook to digitise appointment-based services, streamline operations, and help these businesses scale.
With investor interest growing and adoption rising, Dairo is optimistic about the platform’s future. He envisions Kindlybook becoming the default booking solution across Africa within five years.
According to analysts, Kindlybook could modernise scheduling, and further support business growth for salons and barbershops that are eager to reach more customers in a tech-driven economy.
Talking Points
It is notable that Kindlybook addresses a persistent challenge for Nigerian beauty businesses: managing appointments and payments in a largely informal sector. By digitising scheduling, the platform reduces missed appointments and streamlines cash flow.
This focus on simplicity and upfront payments positions Kindlybook as a practical tool for real operational challenges. With features like calendar syncing, automated reminders, and analytics dashboards, it empowers micro-businesses to operate more efficiently.
At Techpoint Africa, we see how platforms like Kindlybook can accelerate digital adoption beyond urban centres, giving small business owners access to tools previously available only to larger enterprises.
However, success will depend on building trust with users, ensuring affordability, and providing continuous support. User education and clear communication on payment security remain crucial to adoption.
With the right strategies in place, Kindlybook has the potential to become a key driver of digital transformation in Nigeria’s appointment-based service sector.
