Client
Naiparq
location
Kenya
This inquiry explored how cities might make parking less frustrating for everyone involved. In Nairobi, rapid urbanisation had increased demand for parking while many privately owned parking spaces remained underutilised and difficult to access. Rather than viewing parking as simply an infrastructure issue, we investigated whether a digital service could better connect motorists with existing but largely invisible parking spaces.
Our research revealed that the challenge was not simply a shortage of parking, but a lack of coordination between motorists and parking providers. This inquiry explored how service design could improve access to existing resources by creating value for both sides of the service ecosystem.
"The opportunity was not to create more parking spaces, but to make the ones that already existed visible, accessible, and valuable."
What I Learned
My Role
I co-founded NaiparQ and my role included Design Strategy and Growth. I led customer discovery, user research, concept development, business strategy, partnership development, fundraising, marketing, and early customer acquisition, while collaborating closely with UI/UX designers and software engineers to translate user insights into customer journeys and product improvements.
How My Understanding Evolved
Scarcity
We initially believed Nairobi simply did not have enough parking. The obvious solution seemed to be increasing supply.
Visibility
Research revealed that many parking spaces already existed but remained invisible to the people who needed them. The problem shifted from creating parking to making existing parking discoverable and accessible.
Coordination
As we engaged motorists and parking providers, we realised the challenge was not simply matching supply and demand.
Each stakeholder had different needs around trust, convenience, pricing, security, and operations. The service needed to coordinate these different perspectives while creating value for both sides.
Building
Taking NaiparQ from concept to market taught me that designing a service is only the beginning. Every customer conversation, partnership, product iteration, and business pivot became another opportunity to test assumptions and refine the service based on real-world learning.
Designing the Response
How I Approached It
Rather than treating parking as an infrastructure problem, we explored it as a service ecosystem involving motorists, parking providers, property owners, and city stakeholders. The inquiry combined customer research, service design, and entrepreneurial experimentation to understand how better coordination could improve access to existing resources.
Understand
Secondary research
Interviews with motorists, parking owners, and city officials
Site observations
Mapping private parking spaces
Make Sense
Affinity mapping
Customer archetypes
Needs decomposition
Business Model Canvas
Opportunity identification
Design
Service concept development
Customer journeys
Platform design
Wireframes
Value proposition
Business model
Experiment
MVP development
Live launch
Market validation
Customer acquisition
Product iteration
Design Response
We designed NaiparQ, a two-sided urban mobility platform that enabled private parking owners to list underutilised parking spaces while allowing motorists to discover, reserve, and pay for parking in advance.
The service combined a customer-facing mobile application with management tools for parking operators, creating value for both sides of the ecosystem. As the venture evolved, customer learning led to a strategic pivot towards parking management software, integrating IoT-enabled access control and operational tools that supported parking providers beyond marketplace bookings.
Outputs
Research
Stakeholder interviews | Field observations | Market research | Customer archetypes | Needs decomposition
Service Design
User journeys | Platform concept | Business model | Service proposition
Prototype
Figma prototype | MVP | Mobile application | Parking operator dashboard
Business
Pitch deck | Investor presentations | Go-to-market strategy | Partnership strategy
Impact & Reflection
Impact
Successfully launched an MVP and validated the concept during Kenya Innovation Week.
Venture evolved into a parking management platform, expanding the solution beyond marketplace bookings.
Received the Innovation of the Year Award (Emerging Markets) at the Connected Summit 2022.
Demonstrated the viability of coordinating underutilised private parking through a digital service platform.
Reflection
NaiparQ taught me that many urban challenges are not caused by a lack of resources, but by poor coordination between the people who already have them. Looking back, I recognise this as my first experience designing a service ecosystem, one that required balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders while continuously adapting to changing market realities.
It also showed me that good ideas are only valuable when they can be tested in the real world. Building a venture forced me to move beyond designing concepts and into designing services that people were willing to adopt, use, and help improve through ongoing feedback and iteration.
Project
