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Ajotribe

Community Finance Infrastructure for Everyday Africans

Ajotribe is a multilingual AI-powered community finance platform designed for informal African communities — market women, food vendors, artisans, transport workers, cooperative groups, and low-income earners.

Ajotribe digitizes traditional savings circles (Ajo, Esusu, Adashe, Susu) while preserving the trust, community coordination, and financial discipline that already exist within these systems.

Users interact using familiar language, simple workflows, and community structures, while Bitcoin, Lightning, Breez SDK, and Nostr operate silently in the background as the infrastructure powering trust, transparency, and settlement.

Built for Hack4Freedom 2026.

Table of Contents

  • Why Ajotribe Exists
  • Problem Statement
  • Market Research & Survey Findings
  • User Personas
  • Solution Overview
  • Core Features
  • How Ajofi Works
  • User Flow
  • AI Architecture
  • Bitcoin Infrastructure
  • Breez SDK Integration
  • Nostr Integration
  • Technical Architecture
  • API Documentation
  • Database Design
  • Security & Trust
  • Impact
  • SDGs Alignment
  • Competitive Advantage
  • Business Model
  • Roadmap
  • Tech Stack
  • Local Development
  • Environment Variables
  • Team

Why Ajotribe Exists

Across Africa, millions of women and informal workers already practice financial discipline through traditional savings systems such as:

  • Ajo
  • Esusu
  • Adashe
  • Susu
  • Cooperative savings groups

These systems work because they are built on trust.

However, they still face major challenges:

  • Cash handling risks
  • Missing records
  • Collector fraud
  • No emergency support systems
  • No portable reputation
  • Limited financial inclusion
  • Language barriers
  • Poor access to formal banking

Ajotribe exists to preserve what already works while using modern infrastructure to eliminate these limitations.

Problem Statement

How might we help informal African workers safely save, contribute, coordinate, and access emergency financial support in a way that respects how they already live, communicate, and survive together?

Market Research & Survey Findings

Interview Participants

We conducted interviews with market women and informal traders.

Key Findings

1. Savings Circles Are Already Common

Most participants already participate in:

  • Daily contributions
  • Weekly contributions
  • Monthly contributions

2. Trust Is Everything

Participants repeatedly emphasized:

"She is reliable."

Trust in the collector is more important than technology.

3. Ajo Creates Financial Discipline

Participants explained that:

  • Contributions help them save consistently
  • Money becomes available when needed
  • They avoid unnecessary spending

4. Emergency Situations Are Common

Common emergencies include:

  • School fees
  • Medical expenses
  • Family support
  • Business restocking

5. Users Prefer Simplicity

Many participants:

  • Use WhatsApp
  • Prefer voice communication
  • Prefer local languages
  • Avoid complicated banking processes

User Persona

Amina

Profile

  • Age: 42
  • Occupation: Tomato Seller
  • Location: Kano
  • Education: Primary School
  • Phone: Low-end Android

Goals

  • Save consistently
  • Access emergency support
  • Join trusted savings circles
  • Grow her business

Pain Points

  • Cash theft
  • Unreliable collectors
  • Language barriers
  • No savings visibility
  • Limited financial services

Solution Overview

Ajotribe is a community finance platform powered by:

  • AI
  • Bitcoin
  • Lightning
  • Breez SDK
  • Nostr

Users experience:

  • Savings
  • Contributions
  • Emergency support
  • Community coordination

without needing to understand cryptocurrency.

Core Features

Phone Number Registration

Problem

Many users do not have:

  • Email addresses
  • Bank accounts
  • Technical knowledge

Solution

Users register with:

  • Phone Number
  • OTP Verification

No wallet setup required.

Multilingual AI Assistant

Problem

Most fintech applications operate exclusively in English.

Solution

Ajotribe supports:

  • English
  • Yoruba
  • Hausa
  • Igbo
  • Nigerian Pidgin

Example

User:

"I wan save ₦1000 today"

AI:

"Your ₦1000 contribution has been recorded successfully."

Voice-First Experience

Users can:

  • Speak naturally
  • Receive voice responses
  • Navigate without reading complex text

Digital Savings Circles

Users can:

  • Create circles
  • Join circles
  • Track contributions
  • View collection schedules
  • Monitor group progress

Emergency Community Fund

Users can:

  • Request emergency assistance
  • Receive community support
  • Track emergency requests

Supported scenarios:

  • School fees
  • Medical emergencies
  • Business recovery

Trust & Reputation Layer

Ajofi creates portable reputation through Nostr.

Users build trust based on:

  • Contribution history
  • Completed circles
  • Reputation badges

USSD Offline Mode

Users can dial:

*347#

Menu:

1. Save Money
2. Check Balance
3. My Circle
4. Emergency Support
5. Change Language

Works on:

  • Feature phones
  • Low-end devices
  • No internet connection

How Ajofi Works

Contribution Flow

User
 ↓
Paystack Virtual Account
 ↓
Paystack Webhook
 ↓
Backend Verification
 ↓
Bitnob Conversion
 ↓
Breez Wallet
 ↓
Nostr Contribution Record
 ↓
Circle Dashboard Update

Collection Flow

Collection Day
 ↓
Backend Trigger
 ↓
Breez Treasury Wallet
 ↓
Bitnob Offramp
 ↓
Bank Transfer
 ↓
Beneficiary Receives Naira

User Flow

New User

Install App
 ↓
Enter Phone Number
 ↓
Verify OTP
 ↓
Choose Language
 ↓
Create Profile
 ↓
Join Circle
 ↓
Start Saving

Circle Owner

Create Circle
 ↓
Set Contribution Rules
 ↓
Invite Members
 ↓
Track Contributions
 ↓
Release Funds

AI Architecture

Layer 1 — Language Detection

Detects:

  • Yoruba
  • Hausa
  • Igbo
  • Pidgin
  • English

Layer 2 — Intent Detection

Examples:

Save Money
Join Circle
Check Balance
Request Support

Layer 3 — Financial Education

Provides:

  • Savings tips
  • Contribution reminders
  • Financial literacy content

Layer 4 — Recommendation Engine

Suggests:

  • Savings goals
  • Contribution schedules
  • Emergency preparedness

Why Bitcoin

Users do not interact directly with Bitcoin.

Bitcoin serves as infrastructure.

Benefits:

  • Fast settlement
  • Open financial rails
  • Cross-border compatibility
  • Inflation protection
  • Financial freedom

Breez SDK Integration

Why Breez

Breez provides:

  • Lightning infrastructure
  • Self-custodial treasury
  • Settlement layer
  • Wallet functionality

Without Breez:

  • No Lightning settlement
  • No pooled treasury
  • No decentralized financial infrastructure

Contribution Lifecycle

Naira Deposit
 ↓
Paystack
 ↓
Bitnob
 ↓
Lightning Payment
 ↓
Breez Treasury Wallet

Collection Lifecycle

Collection Trigger
 ↓
Breez Wallet
 ↓
Bitnob Offramp
 ↓
Bank Transfer

Nostr Integration

Why Nostr

Nostr provides:

  • Identity
  • Reputation
  • Transparency
  • Portability

NIPs Used

NIP-29

Closed Group Coordination

Used for:

  • Savings circles
  • Membership management

NIP-78

Application Data Storage

Used for:

  • Circle metadata
  • Group settings

NIP-58

Badges

Used for:

  • Reputation
  • Completed circles
  • Community recognition

Contribution Record

Every contribution becomes:

Signed
Timestamped
Immutable
Portable

Technical Architecture

Frontend
│
├── React Native
├── Expo
├── TypeScript
│
Backend
│
├── Node.js
├── Express
├── PostgreSQL
├── Redis
│
Infrastructure
│
├── Breez SDK
├── Nostr
├── Bitnob
├── Paystack
├── Termii
│
AI Layer
│
├── GPT
├── Translation Engine
├── Voice Interface

API Documentation

Authentication

Send OTP

POST /auth/send-otp

Request:

{
  "phone": "+2348012345678"
}

Verify OTP

POST /auth/verify-otp

Request:

{
  "phone": "+2348012345678",
  "code": "123456"
}

Profile

Create Profile

POST /auth/profile

Request:

{
  "name": "Amina"
}

Savings Circles

Create Circle

POST /circles

Get Circles

GET /circles

Join Circle

POST /circles/join/:inviteCode

Contributions

Get Payment Instructions

GET /contributions/:circleId/instructions

Collections

Trigger Collection

POST /collections/:circleId/trigger

Savings

Get Savings Summary

GET /users/me/savings

Database Design

Users

id
name
phone
language
nostr_pubkey
created_at

Circles

id
name
owner_id
contribution_amount
frequency
invite_code

Contributions

id
circle_id
user_id
amount
status
nostr_event_id

Collections

id
circle_id
beneficiary_id
amount
status

Security & Trust

Authentication

  • OTP Verification
  • JWT Sessions

Data Protection

  • AES Encryption
  • Encrypted Secrets

Infrastructure

  • Breez Treasury
  • Nostr Verification
  • Immutable Records

SDGs Alignment

SDG 1

No Poverty

SDG 5

Gender Equality

SDG 8

Decent Work & Economic Growth

SDG 9

Industry Innovation & Infrastructure

SDG 10

Reduced Inequalities

Competitive Advantage

Feature Ajofi Traditional Ajo PiggyVest Cowrywise
Multilingual AI ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Voice Interface ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Community Savings ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌
Emergency Support ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
USSD Access ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Portable Reputation ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Nostr Identity ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌

Roadmap

Phase 1

Core Savings Infrastructure

Phase 2

AI Assistant

Phase 3

USSD Expansion

Phase 4

Cross-Border Communities

Phase 5

Cooperative Finance Infrastructure

Tech Stack

Layer Technology
Frontend React Native
Backend Node.js
Database PostgreSQL
Cache Redis
AI GPT
Payments Paystack
Bitcoin Breez SDK
Identity Nostr
SMS Termii
Conversion Bitnob

Team

Built by Team Overflow for Hack4Freedom 2026. Alabi Ramat - Product Manager Glorious - Backend Developer Oluchi - Frontend Developer Powered by:

  • Bitcoin
  • Lightning
  • Breez SDK
  • Nostr
  • AI

Financial freedom should not require financial expertise. Ajotribe makes community finance accessible to everyone.

About

Ajotribe is a multilingual AI-powered community finance platform designed for informal African communities — market women, food vendors, tailors, artisans, transport workers, and low-income earners.

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