Company
How a Belgian QR code seduced Microsoft, Nike and the American government
Published: June 24, 2024
Manual.to, a young start-up from Ghent, has just signed a contract with the American government for its technology which digitizes user manuals. They now hope to convince Walloon companies.
Digitize instructions or user manuals to make them accessible and easy to use. The idea of this young Ghent company which has clients all over the world is very simple, but devilishly effective. “Do you know anyone who enjoys using a paper manual or a PDF? On the other hand, everyone uses YouTube to repair things at home,” says Jorim Rademaker. He founded Manual.to in 2017 based on this observation and with one objective: to enable the transmission of practical knowledge in businesses in digital form .
This transmission of information must be as simple as possible to be adopted massively, and this is where the Ghent start-up has done well. A simple QR code to scan takes you to a page of instructions accompanied by very short videos which show the gestures to perform or the buttons to press. Is that all? Yes, that’s all, or almost.
Manual.to has created a platform that allows you to download these instructions step by step, accompanied by videos and photos , at lightning speed. “An experienced worker knows how to replace the filter of a complex industrial machine,” explains Jorim Rademaker. “All they need to do is use a smartphone or tablet to document all the steps. Once you have followed this process, you save it and our software gives you a QR code that you can stick on or near the machine. This way, anyone who needs to do the same thing can rely on the practical knowledge of an expert, even long after they have left.”
The technology is so simple that it was immediately successful and convinced giants like Microsoft, Nike, ArcelorMittal or Umicore, and even the American government. With the latter, the Ghent company has just won a major new client.
Manual.to’s platform will be deployed in the coming years to train thousands of workers in Central America in the region’s growing textile sector. The US government’s development cooperation agency, USAID, is providing $2 million for this project , called “Hilando Oportunidades”. The aim is to combat unemployment in the region and thus proactively prevent emigration.
A great business card for the company which has experienced sustained growth for several years and is targeting a turnover of 3 million euros in 2024. “We have been profitable for several years and we have hardly needed financing external.”
But there remains one market that Jorim Rademaker has not managed to penetrate, the south of Belgium. “We immediately went international, we convinced big names around the world and in Flanders, but in Wallonia, it’s more complicated .” This is one of Manual.to’s next challenges, with the French market also in its sights. The final objective is much broader. “We want to reach 1 billion people with our solution.”
Beyond company employees, the Ghent start-up’s solution is starting to reach consumers . “When you buy an Audi in Belgium, you will see our QR code to explain how to connect to the car.” The company will also be one of the Belgian representatives at the Entrepreneurship World Cup which will take place in Saudi Arabia at the end of the year, and hopes to proudly represent its country there and win a check for one million of dollars .
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