Designing financial products that farmers could trust, not just use.
For millions of agribusinesses across Africa, accessing finance is still far more difficult than it should be. Traditional banks often require collateral, lengthy approval processes and paperwork that many small businesses simply can't provide. At the same time, cash-based transactions leave little financial history, making it even harder to qualify for credit or grow a business.
eMaisha Pay was created to change that.
The platform brings together digital payments, savings, business management and access to funding into one mobile experience, helping agribusinesses manage their finances while building a digital record that unlocks future financial opportunities.
As Product & UX Designer, I led the end-to-end redesign of the mobile experience, transforming complex financial workflows into simple, confidence-building journeys for users with varying levels of digital literacy. Working closely with product managers and engineers, I redesigned onboarding, payments, savings and funding experiences that made financial services feel more transparent, accessible and trustworthy.
This wasn't simply about improving a banking app.
It was about designing financial confidence for people whose livelihoods depend on getting every transaction right.
Project Overview
Unlike traditional banking apps, eMaisha Pay serves farmers and agribusinesses who often work in rural areas, experience seasonal income cycles and rely on every transaction being accurate.
The challenge wasn't simply making financial tasks easier. It was creating an experience that felt safe, transparent and trustworthy for users managing real livelihoods.
My Role
I led the product design across the platform's core financial experiences.
Throughout the project, I worked closely with stakeholders to balance customer needs, regulatory requirements and technical feasibility without compromising usability.
The Challenge
Customers hesitated before completing transactions because financial information wasn't always clear. Users struggled to distinguish operational funds from savings, understand funding eligibility and recover confidently from failed transactions.
For the business, these issues reduced product adoption, increased support requests and limited funding uptake.
The opportunity was clear:
How might we make digital banking feel simple, trustworthy and accessible without compromising financial accuracy or regulatory compliance?
Design Strategy
Designing for confidence
Rather than focusing only on speed, I prioritised clarity across every financial interaction by introducing:
Clear transaction progress indicators
Transparent fee communication
Distinct separation between savings and available funds
Improved confirmation, loading and error states
Simplifying onboarding
Using progressive disclosure, we reduced onboarding from six steps to four while maintaining compliance requirements.
Money transfer flows were redesigned around verification and reassurance, while funding eligibility was simplified through clearer explanations and more intuitive application flows.
Constraints
The platform had to balance usability with regulatory compliance, real-time payment dependencies and inconsistent internet connectivity.
Rather than oversimplifying financial workflows, I focused on reducing uncertainty while preserving the safeguards required for secure transactions.
Impact
The redesign strengthened both customer trust and business performance by simplifying high-risk financial journeys and improving access to key services.
Customer Impact
Faster onboarding
More confident transactions
Clearer financial information
Easier access to funding
Reflection
This project reinforced that great fintech experiences aren't defined by minimal interfaces, but by customer confidence.
Every design decision was guided by a simple principle: when people are managing their money, clarity builds trust. Helping users feel certain at every step proved far more valuable than simply making the interface look simpler.
Lets
design
build
create
incredible work together.
waymakandrew@gmail.com
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