e-Hanout

Build a complete Moroccan marketplace enabling local merchants and artisans to sell online through a non-technical-friendly interface, while delivering buyers a smooth experience and national delivery. The chosen tech stack is deliberately non-standard — Django on the backend and Flutter on mobile — without an off-the-shelf CMS, to retain full control over the product and its roadmap.

The stake: build a tool that genuinely democratises e-commerce for Moroccan merchants who have no developer, no technical expertise, no Shopify budget. The vendor interface had to enable self-service onboarding, stock and order management in a few clicks, seasonal offers, and clear revenue tracking. On the buyer side: native iOS/Android mobile app, local payments (CMI, cash on delivery) and real-time tracking.

I built the marketplace platform in Django, with a dedicated vendor back-office covering inventory, catalogue, orders and promotions. The interface is deliberately stripped down to flatten the learning curve for non-technical merchants.

The Flutter mobile app for buyers (iOS and Android) consumes a unified REST API connecting web, mobile and logistics partners. The API was designed to scale and to support future clients (web, partner dashboards, external integrations).

Multi-gateway payment integration calibrated for Morocco: card via CMI, cash on delivery, and architecture ready for mobile wallets (Cash Plus, M-Wallet). Real-time order tracking for both buyers and merchants. Mobile-first design aligned with Moroccan consumer habits: category navigation, performant search, photo-centric product pages, persistent cart.

Vendors benefit from a guided onboarding flow that takes them from account creation to first sale without human intervention.

A fully operational marketplace bringing together Moroccan local merchants and artisans on a single platform. National delivery coverage is ensured through logistics partners integrated directly into the API.

The mobile-first buyer experience powered by the dedicated Flutter app has resonated strongly with the young, urban, smartphone-native target audience. The vendor back-office has enabled onboarding of merchants with zero technical skills — a make-or-break condition of the project — letting each seller publish products, manage stock and track sales autonomously.

CMI payments and cash on delivery work seamlessly for the Moroccan market. The Django/Flutter architecture delivers full product ownership and an evolution roadmap unconstrained by the limits of an off-the-shelf CMS.