Event frustration led me to create ticketing platform — Emmanuel Okpanachi

For Emmanuel Okpanachi, the idea for CheckdIn, an event management and ticketing platform, started with a simple observation at a technology event: attendees were still registering with pen and paper.

The experience prompted the Computer Science graduate of the Federal University Lokoja, to question why event registration had not become fully digital.

His question eventually led to the creation of the platform designed to help event organisers manage registration, ticketing, attendance and other aspects of event management digitally.

Okpanachi ventured into technology in 2019 as a hobby before developing his skills through self-directed learning and hands-on projects.

He said the experience at the technology event became a turning point in his entrepreneurial journey.

Rather than immediately developing a product, Okpanachi began speaking with event attendees and organisers to determine whether the problem was widespread and worth solving.

His conviction grew after he encountered a post on X from another person who had described a similar experience at a technology event, questioning why attendees were still required to register manually.

The coincidence reinforced his belief that there was a genuine gap in the market.

Following further conversations with potential users and his eventual co-founder, Okpanachi and his team began developing CheckdIn as a solution to some of the challenges faced by event organisers.

According to him, the platform provides tools for event registration, ticket management, real-time monitoring, QR-code check-ins, attendance tracking and post-event insights.

Beyond eliminating paper-based registration, Okpanachi sees CheckdIn as part of a broader effort to provide digital infrastructure for Africa’s growing events industry.

As events continue to create opportunities for artists, businesses, brands, vendors and professionals, the platform aims to help organisers manage access, understand their audiences, streamline ticketing and evaluate the performance of their events.

For Okpanachi, the journey from observing paper registration to building a technology business demonstrates the importance of identifying everyday problems and questioning established practices.