Nigerian startup SecVite is seeking to transform how people organise and manage events by bringing invitations, guest management, ticketing, payments and attendance tracking into a single digital platform.
Launched in last October by software engineer Hameed Yusuf, the mobile-first platform was born from the founder’s personal experience of planning his wedding and struggling to coordinate hundreds of guests using different tools.
Since then, SecVite has grown to more than 600 users and has begun onboarding organisers beyond Yusuf’s own network. The platform was first tested at his wedding, where more than 400 guests were managed and over 300 were checked in through QR codes.
While the startup remains self-funded and has yet to generate meaningful revenue or profit, Yusuf is now considering pre-seed funding to support its next phase of growth.
What is SecVite and what does it do?
SecVite is an all-in-one, mobile-first event-management platform designed to help organisers manage an event from the planning stage through to the actual event day.
Users can create events, invite guests, manage RSVPs, approve attendees, sell tickets, collect payments, gifts and contributions, and check guests in using QR codes.
The platform is designed for different types of events, including weddings, birthdays, conferences and other private or public gatherings.
According to Yusuf, the idea was partly driven by the fragmented nature of event planning, where organisers often rely on several unrelated tools.
“You might have WhatsApp for communication, Google Forms for RSVPs, spreadsheets for guest lists, bank transfers for payments, paper lists at the entrance, and another platform if tickets are involved,” he said.
SecVite aims to bring these functions together in one place, reducing manual work and making event management more organised.
How Yusuf’s wedding inspired the startup
The origins of SecVite are closely connected to Yusuf’s own wedding, where he encountered first-hand the difficulties of managing a large guest list.
Instead of simply identifying the problem, the senior software engineer, who has more than 10 years of experience, decided to build a technological solution himself.
His wedding subsequently became the first major real-world test of the platform.
“We managed more than 400 guests through SecVite, and over 300 guests were checked in using QR codes,” Yusuf said.
The experience was significant because it demonstrated that the platform could operate beyond a controlled development environment and handle a large event involving hundreds of real attendees.
Following the successful test, Yusuf formally launched SecVite and began developing it into a broader solution capable of serving weddings, birthdays, conferences and other events.
The problem SecVite is trying to solve
At the centre of SecVite’s proposition is the problem of fragmented event management.
Organisers often have to combine several platforms and manual processes to accomplish relatively simple tasks, creating additional work and increasing the possibility of mistakes.
A guest list might be stored in a spreadsheet, invitations sent through WhatsApp, RSVPs collected through Google Forms, payments received through bank transfers and attendance recorded manually at the entrance.
Yusuf believes this approach creates unnecessary friction for organisers.
“It works, but it creates a lot of manual work and friction for the organiser,” he said.
SecVite is therefore attempting to provide a single digital environment where these processes can be coordinated.
Its focus on private celebrations also differentiates it from platforms primarily designed around public ticketed events, particularly because weddings and birthdays often require approvals, controlled access, invitations and contributions.
Early traction and the search for repeat users
SecVite has attracted more than 600 users since its launch and has begun onboarding external event organisers, suggesting early interest in the platform.
However, Yusuf appears more interested in demonstrating sustained usage than simply accumulating registrations. Some of SecVite’s earliest users encountered the platform as guests at his wedding rather than as organisers themselves.
“A lot of our first users came through my wedding, so they originally experienced SecVite as guests rather than organisers,” he explained.
The startup is now focused on converting that initial exposure into regular use by people who organise their own events.
Yusuf said working with external organisers has also helped the company discover practical challenges that may not emerge during product development.
“Right now, I care more about seeing organisers use SecVite repeatedly for real events than just trying to grow the user number as quickly as possible,” he said.
Business model, funding plans and expansion ambitions
SecVite currently allows organisers to begin using the platform without an upfront payment and instead generates revenue from transactions conducted through events.
Depending on the transaction, the startup charges a service fee ranging from 5 to 7.5 per cent. These transactions can include ticket purchases, cash gifts, contributions, vendor payments and its digital Money Spray feature.
However, the company remains at an early stage and has not yet generated meaningful revenue or profit. Yusuf said the immediate priority is proving that organisers and guests will consistently use the platform and transact through it.
The startup is also considering raising pre-seed investment to accelerate growth.
In the longer term, SecVite hopes to expand across Africa, although Yusuf says the company wants to first establish a strong product and business model in Nigeria.
“The priority is getting the product and business model right in Nigeria first, then expanding from there,” he said.
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