Role:
Lead Product Designer
Impact:
3K+ users
55% growth rate
₦300M+ in transaction volume
Overview
Gallery
In 17 months, I led the design of a mobile platform that helped 3,000+ Nigerians save over ₦300M and start investing for the first time.
Before RAF was a digital product, it was a WhatsApp community.
It ran:
1-on-1 financial advisory sessions
Weekly webinars on saving and investing
150+ members, across different groups for tips and accountability
People saved and invested not because we had tech, but because they felt supported.
Problem
When we started RAF, Nigeria already had savings and investment platforms. PiggyVest, Cowrywise, Bamboo and Risevest were established players with millions of users. But here's what we kept hearing:
People would sign up. Look at the options. Get confused. Then quit.
The platforms assumed users already knew what type of savings plan they needed, how much to save, and what all the financial terminology meant.
For young professionals juggling rent and school fees? For people who'd never invested before? The platforms felt overwhelming. Not because the UX was bad—but because having 5 different types of investment options means nothing if you don't know which one is right for you. Existing platforms gave people tools. We needed to give people confidence, education, and community.
From Community to Product
Our WhatsApp community proved people wanted to save and invest. But the founder kept seeing the same pattern
She would educate people, then direct them to platforms like PiggyVest or Cowrywise. Then they'd come back confused: "I signed up but I don't know which plan to pick. Can you just tell me what to do?"
She was building trust and providing education, but the platforms weren't designed for people who needed guidance.
We kept seeing the same questions:
"I want to invest, but I don't even know where to start.”
"Investment feels like something rich people do. What if I lose my money?”
"I need someone to walk me through this, not just an app."
"How do I actually fund these platforms?"
"Which one should I use?"
"Can you just tell me what to do?"
The pattern was clear; Education alone wasn't enough. People needed easy entry points and someone to make decisions for them. People don't want to become financial experts. They want to retire well without having to figure everything out themselves.
Solutions
We built a platform with 3 clear paths—so users could start based on where they are, not where they think they should be.
Plans — Goal-Based Savings
Save toward something specific—rent, a car, school fees, vacation. Goal-driven saving has purpose. People are 3x more likely to stay consistent when they know what they're saving for.
Design approach:
Simple target setting (amount + timeline)
Automated contributions
Progress tracking
Withdraw target and interest earned when goal is reached
Vaults — Hands-Off Investing
Lock money for a set period. We invest it. You get returns. Most people want investment returns but don't want to pick stocks. Vaults remove the decision paralysis—just choose your tier and duration.
Community — Save Together
Nigerians already save in groups (ajo, esusu). We digitized that trust and structure. Users in community programs save 3x more than solo savers.
Trust is harder to design for than usability
Feedback is king, but the initial launch of RAF proved it’s also a reality check. Early versions faced significant UX friction, and issues from partnerships, which naturally strained trust with our end-users. We leaned into the friction. I synthesized user feedback to systematically reduce or remove bottlenecks with the team and stakeholders. By delivering high-impact refinements, we didn't just improve the UI and UX, we proved to our users that their voices shape the product, successfully rebuilding and deepening their trust.
Key Takeaways
Community is a retention strategy, not just a feature. Users in Seedpools saved 3x more and stayed 2x longer than solo savers.
Designing under constraints taught me to prioritize ruthlessly. Partnership issues blocked features we wanted (like stocks). Instead of waiting, we doubled down on what we could build—and that became our differentiator.
View project Gallery
Overview
Gallery
In 17 months, I led the design of a mobile platform that helped 3,000+ Nigerians save over ₦300M and start investing for the first time.
Before RAF was a digital product, it was a WhatsApp community.
It ran:
1-on-1 financial advisory sessions
Weekly webinars on saving and investing
150+ members, across different groups for tips and accountability
People saved and invested not because we had tech, but because they felt supported.
Problem
When we started RAF, Nigeria already had savings and investment platforms. PiggyVest, Cowrywise, Bamboo and Risevest were established players with millions of users. But here's what we kept hearing:
People would sign up. Look at the options. Get confused. Then quit.
The platforms assumed users already knew what type of savings plan they needed, how much to save, and what all the financial terminology meant.
For young professionals juggling rent and school fees? For people who'd never invested before? The platforms felt overwhelming. Not because the UX was bad—but because having 5 different types of investment options means nothing if you don't know which one is right for you. Existing platforms gave people tools. We needed to give people confidence, education, and community.
From Community to Product
Our WhatsApp community proved people wanted to save and invest. But the founder kept seeing the same pattern
She would educate people, then direct them to platforms like PiggyVest or Cowrywise. Then they'd come back confused: "I signed up but I don't know which plan to pick. Can you just tell me what to do?"
She was building trust and providing education, but the platforms weren't designed for people who needed guidance.
We kept seeing the same questions:
"I want to invest, but I don't even know where to start.”
"Investment feels like something rich people do. What if I lose my money?”
"I need someone to walk me through this, not just an app."
"How do I actually fund these platforms?"
"Which one should I use?"
"Can you just tell me what to do?"
The pattern was clear; Education alone wasn't enough. People needed easy entry points and someone to make decisions for them. People don't want to become financial experts. They want to retire well without having to figure everything out themselves.
Solutions
We built a platform with 3 clear paths—so users could start based on where they are, not where they think they should be.
Plans — Goal-Based Savings
Save toward something specific—rent, a car, school fees, vacation. Goal-driven saving has purpose. People are 3x more likely to stay consistent when they know what they're saving for.
Design approach:
Simple target setting (amount + timeline)
Automated contributions
Progress tracking
Withdraw target and interest earned when goal is reached
Vaults — Hands-Off Investing
Lock money for a set period. We invest it. You get returns. Most people want investment returns but don't want to pick stocks. Vaults remove the decision paralysis—just choose your tier and duration.
Community — Save Together
Nigerians already save in groups (ajo, esusu). We digitized that trust and structure. Users in community programs save 3x more than solo savers.
Trust is harder to design for than usability
Feedback is king, but the initial launch of RAF proved it’s also a reality check. Early versions faced significant UX friction, and issues from partnerships, which naturally strained trust with our end-users. We leaned into the friction. I synthesized user feedback to systematically reduce or remove bottlenecks with the team and stakeholders. By delivering high-impact refinements, we didn't just improve the UI and UX, we proved to our users that their voices shape the product, successfully rebuilding and deepening their trust.
Key Takeaways
Community is a retention strategy, not just a feature. Users in Seedpools saved 3x more and stayed 2x longer than solo savers.
Designing under constraints taught me to prioritize ruthlessly. Partnership issues blocked features we wanted (like stocks). Instead of waiting, we doubled down on what we could build—and that became our differentiator.
View project Gallery