NextPlug
Ease access to township job market
Year:
2025
Timeframe:
2025 - Ongoing
Tools:
V0, Vercel, Supabase, Resend, Paystack, Gemini
Category:
Product Design / Full Product Build
Overview
Designing for the Underserved Informal Workforce
NextPlug is a registered township jobs marketplace I conceived, designed, and built independently — connecting informal and township-economy job seekers with opportunities that mainstream job platforms overlook. Unlike client work, this was a full-stack solo effort: product strategy, UI design, and technical build.
Problem
South Africa's township and informal economies are underserved by existing job platforms, which are largely built around formal-sector hiring norms — CVs, corporate job titles, LinkedIn-style networks. That leaves a huge segment of job seekers and employers without a platform designed around how they actually hire and get hired.
Solution
I designed and built NextPlug end-to-end: a marketplace UI tailored to informal-economy hiring, including a CV builder to help users without formal resumes present themselves professionally, and an "image-to-plug" feature enabling faster, lower-friction listings. I handled the full stack — frontend build in V0, hosting on Vercel, backend/auth via Supabase, transactional email via Resend, payments via Paystack, and AI features via Gemini — plus ongoing monetization strategy and compliance work (Paystack KYC).
