Market
Who it's for
Mechanics and workshops, Tokunbo buyers and dealers, fleet operators, and car owners who want a second opinion before a mechanic's bill.
Hardware concept · Automotive diagnostics
SidScan tells a Nigerian driver what's wrong with the car - in plain language.
An OBD-II scan device and mobile app that reads any car's fault codes and live data, goes deep into ABS, airbag, and transmission systems, and - crucially for this market - checks a Tokunbo car before you buy it. Repair estimates in Naira, reports over WhatsApp, in Pidgin, Yoruba, or Hausa.
Hardware concept · research & design stage (protocols, BOM, market researched) · not yet prototyped · figures illustrative
Module 01 · The Device
A small box that plugs into the car and talks to your phone
SidScan is a scan device on the OBD-II port and a mobile app over Bluetooth. The device speaks every OBD-II protocol - CAN, ISO, VPW, PWM - and the app turns raw sensor data into something a driver or mechanic can act on. Real hardware, designed to be built to a Nigerian price point.
OBD-II (J1962)All protocolsBluetooth to app
🚗
OBD-II port
J1962 · vehicle bus
→
🔌
SidScan device
MCU + CAN + BT
→
📱
SidScan app
read · diagnose · share
MCU STM32F405 / ESP32-S3 CAN MCP2515 transceiver (+ ISO/VPW/PWM) Link Bluetooth / Wi-Fi to phone App offline DTC database, live graphs, reports
Architecture from internal research; the device has not been prototyped yet.
Module 02 · Codes & Live Data
Read the check-engine light, and watch the engine breathe
Pull stored, pending, and permanent trouble codes, translate each one from a jargon code into a cause and a fix, and clear them when the job's done. Then watch live data - RPM, speed, coolant, fuel, oxygen sensors - as numbers or graphs, so an intermittent fault has nowhere to hide.
Read / clear DTCsCode → cause → fixLive data & graphs
RPM
1,840
Speed
0km/h
Coolant
92°C
Fuel
64%
| Code | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| P0301 | Cylinder 1 misfire | Stored |
| P0171 | System too lean (Bank 1) | Pending |
| P0442 | Small EVAP leak | Stored |
Module 03 · Deep Diagnostics
Past the engine - ABS, airbag, transmission, and service resets
Cheap scanners stop at the engine. SidScan is designed to read the other modules a real repair needs - ABS, airbag, transmission, body - with brand-enhanced coverage for the cars Nigeria actually drives, plus service jobs like oil-service and brake-pad resets. Pro tier
ABS · airbag · transmissionToyota · Honda · BMWService resets
ABS / BrakesToyota · Honda · BMW · VW
Read codesAirbag / SRSFault codes + reset readiness
Read codesTransmissionTemps, gears, adaptation status
Read codesOil / brake service resetBrand-dependent coverage
Selected brandsModule 04 · Tokunbo Quick-Check
Check the used car before your money leaves your hand
The most expensive mistake in the Nigerian car market is buying a Tokunbo with hidden faults. SidScan's quick-check mode runs a fast health scan at the auction or the seller's yard - engine, readiness monitors, hidden stored codes, VIN - and gives a plain verdict before you pay, not a nasty surprise after.
Pre-purchase scanHidden-code checkVIN & readiness
Engine & misfires1 stored misfire found
CautionReadiness monitors2 not ready - recently cleared?
Red flagABS / AirbagNo faults
CleanVIN matchMatches documents
OKCleared codes with "not ready" monitors often mean a seller reset the light to hide a fault - exactly what quick-check surfaces.
Module 05 · Made for Nigeria
A scanner that speaks the driver's language and currency
Imported scanners speak dealer-English and dollars. SidScan is designed to explain a fault in Pidgin, Yoruba, or Hausa, estimate the repair in Naira, work offline with a 15,000-plus code database, and let a mechanic send the full report to the owner over WhatsApp. The diagnosis is only useful if the person can understand and share it.
Pidgin · Yoruba · HausaNaira estimatesWhatsApp reports · offline
SidScan report · Toyota Camry
Wetin dey: Cylinder 1 dey misfire (P0301). Fit be spark plug or coil.
Estimate: ₦18,000 – ₦35,000
Readiness: 2 monitors never ready.
Wetin dey: Cylinder 1 dey misfire (P0301). Fit be spark plug or coil.
Estimate: ₦18,000 – ₦35,000
Readiness: 2 monitors never ready.
The opportunity: software to hardware
African developers - us included - overwhelmingly build SaaS, because software is cheap to start and easy to ship. That's also why it's crowded. Hardware is the harder road, and the emptier one. A locally-built diagnostic scanner, tuned for the cars, languages, currency, and buying habits of this market, is a moat that a web app doesn't have - and SidScan is Mpaukwu's deliberate first step from software into hardware.
Wedge
Why it wins here
Off-the-shelf scanners ignore Nigeria: no local languages, no Naira, no Tokunbo pre-purchase mode, poor coverage of common brands. That gap is the wedge.
Ladder
How it grows
Start at the achievable Basic tier, climb to Pro (ABS/airbag/transmission), and toward dealer-grade coding - a device that gets more capable over time.
Basic
Codes + live data
All vehicles · est. build 2–3 months
Pro (MVP)
Deep diagnostics
ABS/airbag/transmission · est. 4–6 months
Dealer
Coding & service
Selected brands · longer horizon
Tiers and timelines are from internal research and are estimates, not commitments. SidScan is a research-and-design-stage concept; no device, sales, or revenue exist yet.
Where SidScan is today
Honest status: the hard research is done - OBD protocols, hardware architecture and bill of materials, manufacturer-specific coverage, ODM/white-label options, and Nigerian market analysis. The build ahead is a prototype device (STM32/ESP32 + CAN), firmware, the mobile app and DTC database, and either a manufacturing or a white-label path. That's a capital and partnership question as much as an engineering one - which is why it's open to investment.
OBD protocol research: doneHardware/BOM: designedPrototype device: plannedFirmware: plannedMobile app + DTC DB: plannedManufacturing / ODM: to select
Want to help take Mpaukwu into hardware?
SidScan is a research-stage hardware concept with deep groundwork done, open to an investor or a manufacturing/technical partner. If automotive, hardware, or the Nigerian car market is your world, let's talk.