Mobi-Kumbu is a mobile money project with a USSD channel for feature-phone access and a wider application and service platform. I first built an independent all-in-one USSD banking MVP to demonstrate the concept. The later implementation became a collaborative system with separate responsibilities. This case study describes my role and the product context without publishing client-owned source code.
Mobile money access can be difficult for people with feature phones or unreliable mobile data. A USSD interaction has to remain short, clear and dependable while coordinating with the wider product. The engineering challenge was connecting that channel to the platform and handling the boundaries between a user session, service responses and short-code integration.
The early prototype combined USSD and banking concepts in one application to establish a working direction. In the later collaborative implementation, I worked on the USSD experience and its related frontend, backend and short-code integration. Another developer handled the wallet and banking components. The integration required clear handoffs between those parts of the system.
I developed the initial independent USSD banking MVP and later owned the USSD channel work, including its backend, frontend and short-code integration. A second developer owned the wallet and banking components of the collaborative implementation.
A usable USSD flow can extend access to people without a smartphone or reliable data connection. My work focused on the user-facing session and the technical integration needed to connect it with the wider product.
The public website and app listing provide product context. This case study records my contribution; the production repositories and client-owned source are private. The earlier all-in-one prototype is separate from the later collaborative implementation.