Student-led business innovates to accommodate beauty stylists

23 June 2020 | Story Niémah Davids. Photo Adobe Stock. Voice Sarin Drew. Read time 4 min.
The Fleeker team have been forced to innovate to accommodate their clients in the personal care industry.
The Fleeker team have been forced to innovate to accommodate their clients in the personal care industry.
 

Remember when standing in a queue at the barbershop or grabbing a seat at your local hair salon while waiting for a haircut was the norm? For clients using the Fleeker platform, which was founded by four University of Cape Town (UCT) students, queuing for grooming is a thing of the past.

Social distancing, limited customer numbers and strict hygiene protocols mean trips to the barbershop, hair salon and beauty spa will look a lot different now as the industry reopens under lockdown “advanced” Level 3.

With a click of a button, clients can use Fleeker to schedule appointments with hairstylists, barbers, make-up artists and nail technicians – and beat the long in-salon queues.

“I spent a lot of time in queues at my barbershop and it made me think of ways to improve and streamline this system, just to make it more convenient for customers,” said Asonele Gevenga, co-founder of Fleeker.

This novel idea is just what the country’s COVID-19 epicentre (the Western Cape) needs, especially as personal care services start to reopen from this week.

On fleek

When the online business opened its virtual doors in September 2018, Gevenga said he could “never have imagined” that 18 months later, the COVID-19 pandemic would force them to innovate further.

As of March this year, the team have been hard at work coming up with creative ways to ensure stylists and beauty therapists would still generate an income once lockdown restrictions were eased and the sector reopened.

“As part of our mission to improve, while adhering to strict health guidelines during this pandemic and still accommodating our customers [stylists] and their customers, we had to make some changes,” he said.

 

“As part of our mission to improve … we had to make some changes.”

Gevenga, an economics and finance student in UCT’s Faculty of Commerce, said the system’s improvements benefit stylists and their clients alike and are likely to last beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working from a client’s home is one such improvement the business has made, he explained. It enhances customer comfort and “ensures better control” as it eliminates the crowded salon.

“This means the stylist will have more control over the health and safety measures they have in place, like sanitising, because it’s a one-on-one service.”

In addition, Fleeker also introduced a cashless payment system, which allows users to transact online; that means handling cash is history too.

And a unique built-in feature enables stylists to track their monthly income, making financial planning a lot easier.  

How it works

Gevenga said Fleeker requires stylists to register online by completing a simple registration form – the process takes just a few minutes. While there’s no upfront cost involved, 10% of every successful booking goes to Fleeker.

Once stylists have signed up, the platform’s location-sharing functionality ensures that potential clients can select a therapist in close proximity to them.

Fleeker currently lists a range of local businesses and more than 100 UCT students make use of their service. Gevenga said a growing number of non-UCT students also make use of the platform.

“We’ve received such great feedback from our clients, as well their clients, especially during this time. This has [reinforced] our commitment to ensure all stylists, big and small, have a fighting chance in the market and are able to connect with customers in an efficient way,” he said.


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COVID-19 is a global pandemic that caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a national disaster in South Africa on 15 March 2020 and to implement a national lockdown from 26 March 2020. UCT is taking the threat of infection in our university community extremely seriously, and this page will be updated with the latest COVID-19 information. Please note that the information on this page is subject to change depending on current lockdown regulations.

Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has in June 2022 repealed some of South Africa’s remaining COVID-19 regulations: namely, sections 16A, 16B and 16C of the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions under the National Health Act. We are now no longer required to wear masks or limit gatherings. Venue restrictions and checks for travellers coming into South Africa have now also been removed.

In July 2022, the University of Cape Town (UCT) revised its approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic on UCT campuses in 2022.
Read the latest document available on the UCT policies web page.

 

Campus communications

 
2022

Adjusting to our new environment 16:50, 23 June 2022
VC Open Lecture and other updates 17:04, 13 April 2022
Feedback from UCT Council meeting of 12 March 2022 09:45, 18 March 2022
UCT Council
March 2022 graduation celebration 16:45, 8 March 2022
Report on the meeting of UCT Council of 21 February 2022 19:30, 21 February 2022
UCT Council
COVID-19 management 2022 11:55, 14 February 2022
Return to campus arrangements 2022 11:15, 4 February 2022

UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre

On Wednesday, 20 July, staff from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences came together with representatives from the Western Cape Government at the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre at Forest Hill Residence to acknowledge the centre’s significance in the fight against COVID-19 and to thank its staff for their contributions. The centre opened on 1 September 2021 with the aim of providing quality vaccination services to UCT staff, students and the nearby communities, as well as to create an opportunity for medical students from the Faculty of Health Sciences to gain practical public health skills. The vaccination centre ceased operations on Friday, 29 July 2022.

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.

 

“After almost a year of operation, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, located at the Forest Hill residence complex in Mowbray, will close on Friday, 29 July 2022. I am extremely grateful and proud of all staff, students and everyone involved in this important project.”
– Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.


Thank You UCT Community

Frequently asked questions

 

Global Citizen Asks: Are COVID-19 Vaccines Safe & Effective?

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If you have further questions about the COVID-19 vaccine check out the FAQ produced by the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF). The DTHF has developed a dedicated chat function where you can ask your vaccine-related questions on the bottom right hand corner of the website.

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“As a contact university, we look forward to readjusting our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in 2023 as the COVID-19 regulations have been repealed.”
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We are continuing to monitor the situation and we will be updating the UCT community regularly – as and when there are further updates. If you are concerned or need more information, students can contact the Student Wellness Service on 021 650 5620 or 021 650 1271 (after hours), while staff can contact 021 650 5685.

 

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