About The Customer
The Kenya Green Building Society (KGBS) is an independent, non-profit membership-based society registered with the World Green Building Council as its Kenya Chapter.
Problem Statement
- Enable Customer to Purchase Carbon Credits
- Source projects that offset the carbon footprint
- Digitize Payments using local Kenyan Payment Systems
Project Scope
- Develop a web-based platform for carbon credit purchases
- Build a carbon emissions calculator
- Integrate with Patch.io to fetch and match carbon offset projects
- Enable digital checkout via local DPO payment gateway
- Deliver a user-friendly frontend with real-time emissions and pricing feedback
Our Approach
We initiated the project with product visioning, defined key user journeys, and finalized requirements through stakeholder engagement. Execution followed the Agile software development methodology, broken into sprints focused on specific features:
- Sprint 1: Project architecture, emissions calculator logic
- Sprint 2: Patch.io API integration and project sourcing logic
- Sprint 3: Shopping cart, checkout workflow, DPO integration
- Sprint 4: QA, user testing, and final deployment
User feedback was continuously incorporated to improve UX and system accuracy.
Technical Solution Design
The platform was developed as a full-stack web application with the following stack:
Backend
Python Django Framework for robust backend logic and API handling
MySQL as the primary relational database for storing user data, transactions, and emissions calculations
Integration with Patch.io API to dynamically fetch global carbon offset projects in real-time
Frontend
Developed using JavaScript, delivering a responsive and interactive user interface
Custom-built carbon calculator tool, allowing users to estimate emissions based on travel, energy usage, and other inputs
Core Functionalities
- Emissions Calculation Engine:
- Accepts user inputs
- Computes estimated emissions
- Determines required carbon credits
- Calculates cost based on offset pricing from Patch.io
Project Matching:
- Filters offset projects based on emission type and amount
- Presents user with tailored options in a shopping cart interface
Third-Party Integrations
- Patch.io API:
- Fetches real-time data on carbon offset projects
- Provides pricing and availability per tonne of CO₂
- DPO Payment Gateway:
- Enables seamless digital payments using local methods
- Supports credit cards, mobile money, and bank transfers within Kenya
Deployment
- Application hosted on Heroku, enabling rapid deployment, scalability, and easy rollback
- Leveraged Heroku Add-ons for logging, monitoring, and database scaling
Success Factors
bCubex provided a solution in shape of Technical Consulting by building Carbon credit purchase app and successfully integrating it with Patch.io and DPO payment gateway in Kenya creating a seamless experience for the end user.
