Vendora Marketplace

Vendora is a comprehensive multi-vendor marketplace tailored for the Port Harcourt region. It features secure payments and an extensive catalog of local products. It seamlessly integrates with SwiftSend for fast, reliable local delivery, sharing a unified database and backend infrastructure.

The Challenge

Local merchants in Port Harcourt faced high barriers to entry when trying to digitize their businesses. Existing platforms often had steep commission rates, lacked integration with hyper-local delivery networks, and struggled with unstable connectivity which degraded the shopping experience.

Architecture & Solution

To solve this, Vendora was architected as a highly resilient, modern web application:

• Frontend Edge Rendering: Built on Next.js 14, the platform utilizes Edge rendering for product catalogs to ensure sub-second First Contentful Paint (FCP) even on slower 3G connections.
• Unified Database Strategy: Utilizing PostgreSQL via Prisma ORM, Vendora shares a centralized database with the SwiftSend logistics platform. When an order is placed on Vendora, the database triggers a transactional webhook that instantly alerts the nearest SwiftSend rider.
• Secure Payments: Integrated Paystack for seamless localized transactions, utilizing webhooks to ensure payment status reconciliation in real-time.

Key Features

• Vendor Dashboard: A dedicated analytics and inventory management portal for merchants.
• Real-time Order Tracking: Websocket-driven live updates on order status, directly tied to the rider's GPS location via SwiftSend.
• Algorithmic Search & Filtering: Fuzzy search implementation using edge-cached Redis to ensure users find local products instantly.

Technical Achievements

By decoupling the frontend presentation layer from the heavy logistics backend, Vendora achieved a Lighthouse performance score of 98/100. The unified database approach eliminated the "double-booking" issue, where an item could be purchased while a rider was unavailable.