FundU
A Nigerian crowdfunding platform that gives any fundraising goal one simple page and one link to share. Supporters send money straight to the organizer’s bank. Fundu never holds the money or takes a cut. It’s my own product: I designed it, built it and run it.
Overview
Raising money in Nigeria today looks like this, in the words on Fundu’s website: “a flyer on your status, your account number in another message, and ‘what happened?’ in every group chat.” The story gets lost, organizers answer the same questions again and again, and updates disappear.
Scattered across WhatsApp
School fees, hospital bills and community projects get raised through messages that are easy to miss and hard to trust.
Explain it once, share one link
One page with the story, photos and bank details, and one link people can drop into every group chat.
Never touch the money
Supporters pay the organizer’s bank directly. Fundu charges a flat daily fee, never a cut.
My role
Fundu is my product. I set the strategy, designed every screen, built the brand and the website, and built the app, using AI-assisted design and coding to move faster. Every decision was mine.
- Product strategy
- UX and UI
- Brand
- Website
- Development
- Launch
- StrategyThe direct-to-bank model, flat daily pricing, free hosting during early access, a Nigeria-first scope and the trust and safety rules.
- Design149 screens across desktop and mobile: every flow, state, error and email.
- BrandThe FundU wordmark, favicon and app icons, link previews and the Lagoon colour system.
- BuildThe website in Next.js, the database and security in Supabase, email, bot protection and the domain. I wrote detailed specs for every app feature, then built them with AI-assisted coding.
Key decisions
- Pay the organizer directlyNot a Fundu wallet. Fundu never holds funds, which is simpler and easier to trust.
- ₦100 a day, never a cutA flat hosting fee instead of a percentage of what’s raised, and free during early access.
- Create first, sign up at publishPeople build their whole page before making an account, so they see the value before the effort.
- One 6-digit codeThe same email code for every sign-up, so people stay in the same tab on their phone.
- Story before bank detailsThe story is what makes people give, so it leads, and bank details sit behind one Send money button.
- Nigeria firstNigerian bank accounts only, instead of mobile money and PayPal across Africa, until the product is ready to expand.
- Bottom sheet menusThe account menu opens from the bottom on mobile, so every option stays in thumb reach.
Create first, sign up later
Creating a campaign takes four steps: basics, story, preview and publish. An account is only needed at the very end, confirmed with a 6-digit email code. If you’re not ready, Fundu emails you a link to finish on any device within 30 days.
Save for later
- What it does
- Emails a link to pick the draft up on any device for 30 days.
- Why
- Nobody should lose their work because they were interrupted or switched phones.
The campaign page
An early version put the bank details at the top. My own note on it was: “it feels like we’re prioritizing account number more than the story.” So I redesigned it story-first. The story leads, and one fixed Send money button opens a sheet with the account details and a copy button.
A dashboard that shows progress
- What it does
- Totals raised, active campaigns, drafts and recent activity, with a prompt to post updates.
- Why
- Regular updates keep supporters giving, so the dashboard nudges organizers to share them.
Trust and safety
Money pages live or die on trust. Every campaign shows who is organizing it, and totals are labelled “reported by the organizer”, because Fundu can’t see bank transfers. Anyone can report a campaign, and the Fundu team reviews reports from an admin area.
The website
A 21-page marketing site that explains Fundu in plain words: “Explain it once. Share one link.” The hero plays an 8-step phone story of money moving from a group chat to the organizer’s bank. Hover or tap a page to scroll through it.
How it changed
- Africa-wide to Nigeria first.Payment methods began with mobile money and PayPal across Africa. I narrowed it to Nigerian bank accounts until the product is ready to expand.
- Bank details to story first.The campaign page put the account number first. I moved the story to the top and the bank details behind one button.
- Sign up first to sign up last.I removed the sign-up wall so people can build their page before making an account.
- A website redesign, and a step back.I tried a full redesign, then reverted it and kept only what worked: the new hero and the trust ledger. An audit followed: one heading size, plainer promises, tighter copy and the Lagoon colours across the site.
- Cutting what didn’t earn its place.Voice dictation was dropped, and the account menu moved from a dropdown to a bottom sheet.
The build
Fundu runs entirely on free plans while it’s in early access. The domain was the only purchase.
- AppNext.js and React, with drag-and-drop story blocks and image processing.
- BackendSupabase: Postgres with row-level security, email and Google sign-in, and file storage.
- HostingVercel, with analytics. I chose to stay on Vercel after ruling out Cloudflare Workers for its CPU limits and email risks.
- Email and safetyGmail SMTP for now, moving to Resend, plus Cloudflare Turnstile to stop bots.
Design system
The Lagoon colour system: deep teal for actions, with orange saved for the U in the logo and for money moments. Montserrat Alternates for headings, Urbanist for text, 12px buttons and 16 to 20px cards.
What’s next
Fundu is live in early access, with hosting free for now. The next goal is the first 1,000 users. There are no measured numbers yet for users, campaigns or money raised.
- First 1,000 usersPromotion and social media campaigns to reach organizers where they already raise money: WhatsApp, church and school groups, and social feeds.