From Eastern Washington University to Shenaza Technologies

The Shenaza story begins in 2019, in Spokane, WA at the Eastern Washington University. Elvis Lillyss, PhD, had just found himself accepting the position as the Assistant Professor of the Public Administration Graduate Program. Zakaria Apiiga, an undergrad studying International Business Management at the university, was contacted by Dr. Isaac Aklamanu to assist Elvis in exploring the new campus and city, as well as get settled into his new position.

During their first meeting, Elvis and Zak found they shared many values, ideals, and goals. They both had an interest in the challenges facing those constantly traveling for work, leaving behind homes they are working to sustain, as well as problems threatening developing countries in Africa and the diaspora of their African people from their homelands. They discussed many of the problems facing the everyday citizen and consumer. As Zak and Elvis spoke, they also discovered there were not many platforms to assist individuals facing some of these problems. Those who travel, especially for short periods of time, don’t have access to all the familiar amenities and services of home. Alternatively, networking with others of African descent, who could relate to their own experiences, was not easy to do in the Spokane community, where there was no established program to assist in exploring and maneuvering this new culture. Elvis and Zak had been brought together to do just that, and it wasn’t long before they realized these problems were bigger than themselves, and how they might aid others in finding a solution to their problems. The question remained: How the plethora of issues facing society could be best engaged and resolved with the use of the technological world they found themselves in.

In the beginning, things were unconventional and chaotic, grandiose ideas with no foundation flew and disagreements in the best courses of action ensued, but by 2020 a deal was struck. Zak and Elvis had created a partnership and Shenaza was born. A name derived from two others, Sheena, Elvis’ daughter, and Zakaria; Shenaza was the beginning to a beautiful partnership. Once their journey began, their relentless search for better answers gave birth to E-zevis, AfrikanMeet, Zevmob, and GoZevis; while connecting people to the services they need remained a core value of Shenaza.

E-zevis is a marketplace to connect individuals wishing to swap things they do not need for the things they desire, while AfrikanMeet is a platform to connect people of African descent on a global level, for both dating and networking. Furthermore, Zevmob is a marketplace to connect individuals with professionals who will provide services at the convenience of the customers location. Finally, GoZevis is a one-stop platform to connect travelers to all the amenities they desire during their time away, giving them the satisfaction and sense of a home away from home.

Currently, Shenaza has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington with several other offices in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They continue to search for answers to bring likeminded entrepreneurs and their desire to solve the world's everyday problems together, starting with each and every click of a button.