Building a Multi-Module B2B Marketplace for Ethical Mineral Trading in Africa
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Client name
Holding Company
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Industry
Supply Chain
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Location
Africa
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Size
50+
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Duration
2023 – 2024
Our client is a leading African holding company providing infrastructure for the procurement and distribution of physical goods and raw materials. Their flagship product is an operational system for cross-border commodity transactions, focusing on ethical sourcing, traceability, and compliance with ESG standards. The client approached Anadea to develop a closed marketplace for mineral trading, which would become a key module of this system.
Challenges
When the client approached Anadea, they were looking for a quick solution to expand their team and implement a complex enterprise product. The client already had internal experience building a marketplace for agricultural products but needed a separate platform for minerals. This meant starting the project from scratch, integrating with existing processes, and working closely with an international team. The main challenges were as follows:
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Complex Business Logic
This was not just a marketplace but the creation of a corporate portal with a full cycle of operations. The platform had to cover product quality control, inventory and listing management, contract execution, logistics, and financial settlements.
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Communication Barriers
Part of the team was based on the client's side in Africa, which created a difference in time zones. This led to difficulties with synchronization and affected the speed of decision-making.
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Integration with Other Projects
The marketplace was developed in parallel with the client's internal marketplace for agricultural products. This created a context of competition between the teams and a need for aligned approaches to avoid conflicts in business logic and design.
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Rapid Team Formation
The client needed to immediately engage qualified developers at appropriate rate levels. Anadea had to quickly confirm capabilities and form a team to maintain momentum and meet the client's expectations.
Solution
Anadea provided the client with a team of specialists in a team extension (time & materials) format and took on a key role in project implementation. The solution included:
Anadea took on the entire product creation process. Starting from business requirement analysis and UX/UI design, the team moved on to frontend and backend development. This included building API layers and integrating with MongoDB for flexible data storage and retrieval, as well as connecting with financial services and internal tools.
The initial instructions were provided as general descriptions, often generated by AI. The Anadea team transformed these into specific user stories, flows, and clearly described tasks. This process was crucial for developing precise features like dynamic inventory management, aggregation tracking tools, and automated contract generation, turning the client's ideas into practical solutions.
Our team designed and implemented a suite of key features that formed the core of the platform:
- Integrated a system for real-time inventory and listings management with dynamic stock updates, restocking alerts, and aggregation tracking tools to monitor goods movement and warehouse operations.
- Developed interactive dashboards and data visualizations tailored to various user roles, providing full operational transparency.
- Built a secure internal wallet system with comprehensive transaction tracking and user-specific financial history.
- Created integrated contract management features for automated contract generation, performance tracking, and compliance.
Development was carried out using the Agile methodology. Work was divided into 2-week sprints, daily stand-ups were held, and weekly demos were conducted for the client, ensuring continuous feedback and alignment.
Anadea not only developed new features but also conducted code reviews for the client's team's work, improving overall code quality and helping to avoid critical errors. We participated in key architectural decisions to ensure a robust and optimized tech stack.
To ensure smooth product rollout, we delivered detailed onboarding materials and tutorial videos, significantly supporting user adoption and minimizing transition hurdles.
The platform was developed in parallel with other client’s products led by a different team. Anadea ensured solution alignment, the use of shared designs, and synchronization of business logic to avoid duplication or conflicts.
The platform architecture was designed with multi-tenancy in mind, allowing for the future launch of new marketplaces or modules without the need to rebuild the entire system. The use of modern, flexible technologies like MongoDB further supported this scalable foundation.
Core Platform Features
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Multi-role registration and KYC system. In-depth user verification (suppliers, samplers, laboratories, logistics).
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Inventory management. Ability to add goods, specify quantity, units of measurement, storage location, and logistics preferences.
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Listing management. A complex multi-stage process for creating offers: from product details and pricing to organizing quality control.
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Quality assurance. Module for uploading quality certificates or organizing visits by independent samplers for laboratory testing. Detailed tracking of testing statuses.
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Contract management. Full lifecycle of a deal: from reviewing terms and e-signing to tracking fulfillment statuses and payments (broken down into advance and final settlement).
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Logistics. Real-time module for tracking shipments with the ability to filter by status ("Enroute", "Arrived") and incidents en route (vehicle breakdown, security issues).
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Financial services. Integration with a custom wallet for processing all payments, activating accounts, depositing, and withdrawing funds.
A dedicated tech team for your ambitious projects
We helped our client rapidly scale their capabilities through our Team Extension model. Ready to provide you with talented developers and seasoned managers to achieve your goals.
Tech Stack
Kotlin
Java
SpringBoot
MongoDB
React
Next.js
TypeScript
Kotlin
Java
SpringBoot
MongoDB
React
Next.js
TypeScript
Services
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Project management
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Web development
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UI/UX design
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Quality control
Business Value
The implemented platform fully aligns with the next strategic goals:
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The platform ensures full transparency of the supply chain from supplier to buyer.
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Built-in tools for verifying product quality and origin help adhere to ethical norms and global standards.
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Automation of complex multi-stage processes such as listing, contracts, and logistics reduced deal time and lowered operational costs.
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The proprietary wallet creates a closed, secure, and convenient financial cycle for all platform participants.
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Multi-tenant architecture lays the foundation for future expansion of the platform to new product types and markets.
Contact us
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