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Case Study

Awali - WhatsApp-Native RSVP & M-Pesa Payments Platform

WhatsApp-native RSVP and M-Pesa payments platform for Kenya. Guests never leave WhatsApp. Organisers never chase anyone manually.

Nuxt 4 (Vue 3)Tailwind CSS 4 + shadcn-vueFirebase (Firestore + Auth)Google GeminiM-Pesa Daraja APIWhatsApp Business APIBun
123 across 7 categoriesFlow Templates
Paybill, Till, Pochi la BiasharaPayment Routing
Gemini-powered descriptionsAI Integration
Pre-LaunchStatus

Hats I Wore

Project Overview

Awali (Swahili: "the beginning; the origin") is a WhatsApp-native RSVP and M-Pesa payments platform built for Kenya. Every day, millions of Kenyans coordinate events, collect RSVPs, and reconcile payments manually on WhatsApp. Awali eliminates all of that.

The phone number is the identity layer. M-Pesa is the payment layer. The bot is the experience layer. QR codes bridge the physical world to digital flows.

How It Works

For the Organiser:

  1. Create a Flow — choose from 123 templates across 7 categories
  2. Customise — set questions, upload poster/PDF/map pin, configure payment
  3. Share — get a QR code + WhatsApp link
  4. Watch the dashboard — real-time RSVPs, payments, and check-ins

For the Guest:

  1. Scan QR code or tap WhatsApp link
  2. Bot guides them through questions conversationally
  3. Pay via M-Pesa STK Push — PIN prompt appears on their phone
  4. Receive confirmation, ticket, schedule PDF, map pin — all in WhatsApp

Technical Architecture

Payment Routing

Intelligent M-Pesa routing: if the organiser has a Paybill, payments go direct (0% platform cut). Otherwise, payments route through the Awali platform Paybill with agreed percentage deduction. Reconciliation uses the phone number as the universal join key between WhatsApp conversations and M-Pesa callbacks.

Security

  • Firestore Rules using "Master Gate" pattern with strict schema validation
  • ABAC — organisers manage only their own flows
  • Entity validation — key/type/size checks to prevent denial-of-wallet attacks

AI Integration

Google Gemini powers Kenyan-style event description generation, custom RSVP question suggestions based on event template, and in-chat guest support.

Template Library

123 flows across 7 categories: RSVP & Events (17), Live Event Info (17), Membership & Registration (18), Payments & Collections (18), Feedback & Surveys (16), Registration & Forms (22), Check-in & Access (15).

Technologies

Nuxt 4, Vue 3, Tailwind CSS 4, shadcn-vue, Reka UI, Firebase (Firestore + Auth), Google Gemini, M-Pesa Daraja API, WhatsApp Business API, Bun

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