A circular economy marketplace investment with verified unit economics and scalable revenue architecture. Connecting customers to eco-certified water, sanitation, and hygiene operators via instant digital booking and integrated payment infrastructure β creating investable opportunities in sustainable services across East Africa.
Investment Case
The Problem
East African cities have a growing demand for sustainable cleaning, water recycling, and sanitation services, but operators are fragmented, discovery is word-of-mouth, and booking requires multiple phone calls. Customers can't verify eco-credentials, compare pricing, or pay digitally.
Operators lack a digital presence, struggle with scheduling, can't define their service areas precisely, and lose revenue to no-shows because there's no upfront payment commitment.
The Solution
WASH Eco-Connect is a two-sided marketplace where customers scan a QR code or browse the platform to instantly discover, verify, and book eco-certified operators in their area. A shadow account system allows booking without signup β the platform creates a provisional profile from the phone number, convertible to a full account later.
Operators define their service polygons on Google Maps, set availability windows, and receive dispatched jobs with route optimization. M-Pesa integration with a 5-layer fallback ensures payments always process, even in degraded network conditions.
Features
Tech Stack
React SPA with Vite build tooling, responsive design, QR code generation/scanning, and Leaflet map integration for service area visualization.
Firebase Firestore for real-time data sync, Cloud Functions for serverless business logic, and Authentication for multi-provider identity management.
Google Maps API for polygon-based service area definition, geocoding, and route optimization. Leaflet for lightweight client-side map rendering.
M-Pesa Daraja API integration with multi-layer fallback chain ensuring payment completion even in degraded network conditions.
Challenges & Learnings
M-Pesa transactions can fail silently in low-connectivity zones. The 5-layer fallback chain was designed through iterative testing of real-world failure modes across Nairobi's network topology.
Operators need precise service area boundaries but aren't GIS experts. Solved with a simplified polygon drawing tool that snaps to roads and neighborhoods with preset templates.
Converting anonymous bookings to registered users without disrupting the experience required careful state management and progressive profile enrichment over multiple interactions.