From a single idea to a live marketplace spanning Kenya and Somaliaโhere's how we turned a complex, multi-panel commerce vision into a working product. We connected buyers, sellers, and administrators through one seamless digital ecosystem built for regional commerce. The result is a scalable marketplace designed to simplify transactions, support diverse user needs, and create a strong foundation for future growth across both markets.
Industry
E-Commerce / Multi-Vendor Marketplace
Business Type
Startup
Project duration
8 to 10 Months
Tap & Trade is a Kenya-based e-commerce startup with a straightforward but ambitious objective โ to create a single destination where buyers across East Africa can purchase anything from everyday lifestyle products to electronics, all at prices that make sense for the local market.Think of it as a regional answer to what Alibaba and Amazon do globally. The platform was conceived to bridge the gap between vendors across Kenya and Somalia and the customers who needed convenient, reliable access to their products.
The founder came in with a clear picture of what they wanted: a marketplace where vendors could sign up and sell, where the platform itself could also carry its own inventory, and where the logistics sideโshippingโwas handled in a way that gave vendors flexibility rather than locking them into one model.
The client needed a development partner who had real experience with marketplace architecture โ not just a team that could build a shopping cart. The scope included four distinct user panels, a shipment workflow, an affiliate and referral earning system, and a vendor onboarding process complete with approval controls. That's a lot of moving parts to get right.The client also needed someone who could take the idea and structure it properly before writing a single line of code. We started with detailed discovery sessions where we mapped out every user journey, every approval gate, and every commission rule. That groundwork is why the build phase went smoothly.โจ
They evaluated several companies before deciding to work with us. What gave them confidence was our track record with Flutter-based cross-platform apps, our understanding of multi-role systems with permission-based access, and the fact that we asked the right questions earlyโabout business logic, edge cases, and how the admin team would actually run day-to-day operations.
Restaurant apps live or die on speed, location accuracy, and whether the loyalty mechanic gives customers a genuine reason to open it again.
6 Months Free Maintenance After Launch
Before the team wrote any code, we spent the first two weeks in intensive discovery. We documented every business rule: when a vendor can start listing, who can deactivate a product and under what conditions, how the affiliate commission is calculated and distributed, and what happens when a shipper marks an order as failed. Mapping this out early meant that when development began, the team wasn't making assumptionsโthey were executing a plan with clarity, consistency, confidence, and fewer costly surprises throughout the entire development process.
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The vendor registration flow was designed to be thorough but not monotonous. Vendors fill in their business details, upload required documents, and submit for review. The admin panel surfaces all pending applications in a queue with the ability to approve, reject, or request additional information. Once approved, the vendor's dashboard unlocksโproduct listing tools, shipment setup, earnings overview, and everything become available at once, without unnecessary delays, confusion, or repeated approval steps.
03
We built the shipment module with two modes: platform-managed and vendor-managed. In platform-managed mode, Tap & Trade handles the logistics, and the shipper panel drives the entire delivery workflow โ pickup confirmation, in-transit updates, delivery confirmation, and exception handling. In vendor-managed mode, the vendor marks shipments themselves, and the customer receives status updates through the same tracking interface. Both modes feed into a unified order history for customers.
The commission engine was built as a configurable rules layer. Admins set commission percentages at the category level. If a category has no set rate, the system applies the default. The engine calculates earnings on completed orders, not on placement, so the referral credit only hits once the order is delivered and confirmed. Earnings are tracked in the user's wallet within the app, with options to redeem against future purchases. This creates a transparent, reliable rewards system that keeps commissions aligned with completed transactions.
04
Customer, vendor, shipper, and admin interfaces were developed concurrently across teams. Regular internal builds are shared with the client every two weeks for feedback. The dual-tab product experience and shipment mode toggle received the most iteration cycles based on usability feedback. This collaborative process helped refine the platform continuously while keeping every experience aligned across all user journeys, workflows, and regional commerce requirements.
Full end-to-end testing across all four panels ensured reliable behavior across the complete platform. Specific test scenarios included vendor approval triggering correct permission grants, admin product deactivation reflecting immediately on the customer side, commission calculations across categories with and without defined rates, and shipment status updates synchronizing correctly between shipper and customer views.
Beta launch with a controlled set of vendors in Kenya. Real-world data was used to fine-tune the commission engine and shipment notification timing. After a stable two-week beta, the platform went live across both Kenya and Somalia. This phased rollout reduced launch risks while validating core workflows under real operating conditions. The team then expanded confidently with a stable foundation ready to support growing marketplace activity.
300+
Vendor registrations grew steadily during the platformโs first 60 days, reflecting strong early marketplace adoption overall.
40%
Orders were processed and delivered consistently much faster, improving overall operational efficiency significantly.
92%
Commission calculation accuracy at launch. Automated commission rules ensured accurate, transparent payouts from day one.
We build what the product needs โ not what the template allows, delivered on the schedule your launch actually depends on.
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