Project

Orda Africa

I worked with Orda Africa from its launch, effectively acting as Product Design Lead for the restaurant management product. I was responsible for shaping the MVP and helping evolve it into a broader suite of restaurant management tools. What began as a focused product for menu and order management expanded into a much wider ecosystem supporting restaurant operations across multiple touchpoints and devices.

Client

Orda Africa

Timeline

Jul 2020 — Aug 2025

URL

https://orda.africa/

Services

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Goals

The initial goal was to design an MVP that could solve real operational challenges for restaurants and be tested quickly with users in African markets. The product needed to be practical, intuitive and adaptable to the realities of day-to-day restaurant operations in Africa, while also providing a strong foundation for future expansion. As the platform evolved, the goal shifted towards creating an integrated suite of tools that could support a wider range of business functions, including analytics, inventory management, payments and accounting. A key requirement throughout was ensuring the experience could work consistently across web, tablet and handheld Android devices, while remaining efficient for both users and developers.

Approach

I worked closely with the product lead and engineering lead to translate requirements into fully functional prototypes that could be tested with restauranteurs in Africa. This was a highly iterative process, focused on moving quickly from product thinking into tangible interfaces and workflows that could be validated in real-world use. To support this, I developed a design system in Figma that enabled rapid prototyping and streamlined developer handover. Built on Bootstrap, the system was adapted to work across multiple applications and platforms, including browser-based interfaces and native Android apps. This gave the team a shared and scalable foundation as the product suite grew in scope and complexity. My process was grounded in both market research and direct user insight. I researched comparable POS hardware and software by purchasing and reviewing systems from providers such as Square, ePOS and Xiaomi, alongside studying similar platforms in more developed markets to understand what patterns and features could translate effectively to developing markets. I also joined the team on customer visits in Kenya, where I observed how restaurants were using the products in practice and gained first-hand insight into the operational realities, pain points and constraints that shaped future design decisions.

Deliverables

I led the product design and contributed to its expansion into a wider restaurant management ecosystem. This included the backend web application, consumer microsites, tablet-based Android POS apps and a handheld POS app designed for Orda-branded Android devices. I also created the Figma design system that supported rapid prototyping, consistency across end-devices and more efficient developer handover.

Outcomes

The product developed from a focused kitchen and order management tool into a broader suite of restaurant management solutions covering analytics, inventory, payments and accounting. By combining rapid prototyping, system-based design and direct user research in market, the work helped create a more practical and scalable product ecosystem tailored to the needs of restaurants operating in African markets.
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