Eki Express

Eki Express was my introduction to startup product design. The company was building a mobile-first e-commerce platform to connect African diaspora communities with authentic African marketplace products—think specialty foods, traditional clothing, and artisanal goods. The user base presented unique design challenges. We were serving a diaspora community spread across the US and Europe, with varying levels of tech literacy and different cultural expectations around shopping. Many users were more familiar with physical marketplace haggling than e-commerce checkout flows. I conducted user interviews across multiple diaspora communities to understand their needs and hesitations. Trust was a recurring theme—people wanted assurance that products were authentic, that international shipping was reliable, that their money was safe. These insights shaped every design decision. I designed the mobile app from the ground up, prioritizing clarity and simplicity. Product categorization was organized by regional markets—Nigerian, Ghanaian, Ethiopian—reflecting how users actually thought about these goods. I integrated currency conversion so users could see prices in their local currency. Delivery tracking was prominent because shipping transparency was a major trust factor. We launched the MVP to over 1,000 early adopters and achieved a 4.5-star app store rating. Cart abandonment dropped by 35% after UX improvements. The platform successfully facilitated transactions across 15 countries. This experience taught me that good design often means getting out of the way—removing friction, building trust, and letting users accomplish their goals without thinking about the interface.