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Independent product build
MontiEx: Mobile Crypto Exchange
Mobile-first crypto exchange prototype for West African markets
Solo Founder & Product OwnerPaused prototype
The problem
Existing trading experiences did not fit West African mobile-money habits and device constraints.
My contribution
Led research, product definition, prototype development, and QA with external design support.
The outcome
Built an end-to-end sandbox prototype in under six months; paused following regulatory constraints.
MobileFintechReact NativeWest Africa
The Challenge
Most crypto platforms were poorly adapted for West Africa, ignoring mobile money dominance, local currencies, regulatory uncertainty, and low-end device performance. The challenge was to build a trading experience optimized for these real-world constraints.
Approach & decisions
- Conducted user research across West Africa to map real payment habits and pain points with existing apps
- Defined the full product flow: wallet creation → mobile-money deposit → local-currency price feeds → one-tap buy/sell → instant withdrawal
- Designed all user journeys and high-fidelity screens, prioritising simplicity (3-tap trading) and offline resilience
- Wrote detailed PRDs and API contracts for payment gateway integrations (sandbox testing with multiple providers)
- Built the prototype in React Native with external UI/UX support and AI-assisted coding for rapid iteration
- Personally handled all QA: unit testing, device-farm validation across low-end Androids, and end-to-end flow verification
Results
01Delivered a fully functional end-to-end prototype in under 6 months, capable of real mobile-money on/off-ramps in sandbox
02Validated strong market demand through user interviews and beta feedback (90%+ expressed intent to use)
03Confirmed technical feasibility on low-end devices with sub-3-second load times and offline caching
04Project paused due to regulatory complexity (not technical limitations), providing clear learnings for future market entry
05Gained deep insight into emerging-market fintech constraints that directly informs product decisions today