product system
Hardware-OS
A discovery platform for hardware goods — iron, ceramics, building materials — that took third place at the Africa's Talking monthly hackathon and became the seed of everything after it.
Team build
Hardware-OS started from a specific observation: the hardware trade in Lagos runs on relationships and physical visits, and the products themselves are hard to search for because buyers describe them by use rather than by name.
It placed third. More usefully, it produced the intent-capture idea that became Swifta, which won the Pan-African finals, which in turn became the thinking behind Twizrr.
What this record says
Problem: Hardware buyers describe products by what they need them for, not by the names catalogues index them under.
Audience: Buyers and sellers of building materials and hardware goods in Lagos.
Contribution: Team build as part of the competing group.
Status: Hackathon build. Not maintained; the idea continued into Swifta and then Twizrr.
System decisions
- Index products by described use rather than by catalogue name
Next improvement: None — superseded by later work.
Evidence and sources
3rd place, Africa's Talking monthly hackathon, Lagos - The competition repository is not public, so this record has no verifying link.