UX/UI DESIGN
SavePlus
Helping change makers raise funds, share stories, and inspire action.
Project Overview
In East Africa, raising funds for personal, medical, or community needs remains a major challenge, particularly during emergencies or life-changing events. Many people lack access to secure, transparent, and user-friendly crowdfunding platforms that make it simple to request and receive financial support.
SavePlus was designed to bridge this gap, a digital crowdfunding platform that empowers users to raise funds for meaningful causes, from celebrations and education to unexpected challenges like accidents or illnesses. My goal as the Product Designer was to create an accessible, trustworthy, and community-driven platform that helps individuals mobilize financial support quickly and safely when it matters most. The result is a product that not only enables giving but also builds trust, connection, and impact within local communities.
Design Process
~6 Weeks to Idea Validation
Synthesising the Problem
How might we design a secure, user-centred crowdfunding platform that helps people in East Africa easily raise and receive funds for personal or community causes, built for speed, trust, and local relevance?
Ideas & Solution
Design a web-based crowdfunding platform that allows users to create fundraising campaigns, donate to meaningful causes, and receive contributions seamlessly. The platform needed to be intuitive, accessible, and integrated with local payment systems, ensuring a smooth, reliable, and inclusive experience for users across East Africa.
Impacts
We successfully empowered individuals to raise funds for a wide range of personal and community causes, providing timely financial support when it mattered most. For instance, one family raised $1,440 to cover funeral expenses for a loved one, demonstrating the platform’s real-world impact and ability to connect communities through generosity.
Research
I conducted user interviews with four individuals who had previously raised funds and two others planning to start fundraising campaigns. These remote phone interviews aimed to uncover the key challenges users face when creating campaigns and receiving donations. Insights from these conversations revealed that setting up a cause and managing contributions is often confusing, unstructured, and lacks proper support systems. This research provided valuable input for designing a more intuitive, guided, and user-centered crowdfunding experience that simplifies the entire fundraising journey.
Findings
Through this research, I identified three primary user groups commonly involved in the fundraising journey:
The Creator - This is the individual who initiates and manages a fundraising campaign. They may be organizing the effort on behalf of someone else and are not always the direct beneficiary of the funds raised. Their role is central to shaping the campaign’s message, building trust, and driving engagement throughout the crowdfunding process.
The Donor - An individual who contributes financially to support a cause or campaign they care about. Donors play a vital role in the crowdfunding ecosystem, helping individuals and communities achieve their goals through trust, generosity, and meaningful engagement.
The Beneficiary - The individual or organization that receives the funds raised through donations. Beneficiaries are the end recipients of financial support, and their stories help build trust, transparency, and emotional connection within the crowdfunding platform.
Understanding the Current Fundraising
Landscape in East Africa
To gain a deeper understanding of how users create fundraising campaigns, donate to causes, and access raised funds, I conducted a competitive analysis of leading crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe, Kickstarter, Patreon, and Indiegogo.
I explored each platform's core features, user flows, and fund distribution processes, while also reviewing user feedback and reviews to identify common pain points, UX challenges, and best practices. This research provided valuable insights into what makes a crowdfunding experience effective, trustworthy, and user-friendly, shaping the foundation for designing a localized, accessible fundraising platform for East Africa.
Sketches
To visualize and refine the product experience, I designed and tested multiple wireframe variations to explore different layout structures, navigation patterns, and interaction flows. This iterative process helped identify the most intuitive, user-friendly design, ensuring the final crowdfunding platform delivered a seamless and engaging user experience across all devices.
Landing Page
I designed the landing page with a focus on cultural relevance, emotional connection, and user trust. Every visual element, from the carefully selected imagery to the integration of Imigongo, a traditional East African design pattern, was chosen to create a familiar and authentic user experience that resonates with local audiences.
This culturally inspired design approach not only fosters trust but also encourages users to support meaningful causes within their communities.
To enhance usability, I included a brief onboarding walkthrough that helps first-time users quickly understand how the crowdfunding platform works, making the experience accessible, engaging, and easy to navigate from the very first interaction.
Cause Card View
I designed the cause card to give donors essential information at a glance, making it easier for them to make informed and confident giving decisions. Each card includes a beneficiary image, a short cause description, and a category label, all crafted to provide context, clarity, and emotional connection.
To strengthen trust and transparency, I added a progress indicator that displays how much has been raised toward the campaign goal, along with a verified badge confirming that the cause has been reviewed and approved by the platform.
Additionally, donors can easily share campaigns across channels, helping to increase visibility, reach, and community participation. This thoughtful design ensures the crowdfunding experience feels credible, engaging, and user-centered from discovery to donation.
Donate to a Cause
- Designed a seamless donation flow to minimize friction, enhance usability, and encourage more contributions.
- Integrated multiple payment options, including debit cards and Mobile Money, to cater to diverse user preferences across East Africa.
- Added an option for donors to contribute anonymously or share selected personal details, promoting privacy, trust, and transparency.
- Enabled easy social sharing of causes with friends and family to boost visibility, reach, and community engagement across networks.
This user-centered approach ensured the donation experience was intuitive, inclusive, and optimized for conversion.
Cash Out
- At the end of each campaign, the creator can seamlessly withdraw the funds raised, ensuring a smooth and transparent payout process.
- All funds are securely transferred to the verified bank account provided during the cause setup, guaranteeing safe, reliable, and traceable disbursement.
- This process reinforces trust, accountability, and financial transparency, key pillars of a user-centered crowdfunding experience.
Developer Handoff
I developed a structured, component-based design system to ensure visual consistency, scalability, and efficiency across the platform. This system streamlined collaboration between design and engineering, enabling faster development and easier maintenance. I facilitated a smooth design-to-development handoff using Figma, providing detailed documentation and specifications to ensure accurate implementation. This approach minimized communication gaps, improved team efficiency, and maintained pixel-perfect alignment, thereby strengthening the overall UX and product delivery workflow.
Learning & Achievement
The platform has helped users raise over $400,000, making a tangible impact in East Africa. Specific examples include Jules Karitanyi's family raising $1,400 for a father's burial and Ubuhamya using SavePlus for cancer treatment.
The platform's real-world value in empowering communities through digital crowdfunding during critical moments reinforces SavePlus's mission as a trusted, inclusive, and impactful platform for human stories and meaningful change.
View project presentation Video here