Zark is a platform I designed to help people in the diaspora easily support causes back home through their daily spending. It allows users to fund initiatives they care about with minimal effort, creating a compounding effect of support for important organizations in their home country.

The journey of building Zark covered everything from onboarding and fund selection to creating an interactive dashboard that keeps users engaged and informed.

Onboarding is often where users drop off, so I focused on making it as smooth as possible. To keep things easy, I broke the process into smaller steps. It starts with a simple form, then a code is sent to the user’s phone for authentication—nothing overwhelming, just one step at a time to reduce cognitive load.

Once users are onboarded, they get to the part that really matters: choosing where their contributions go. They can either pick a category of funds that aligns with their values or hand-select individual funds. The idea was to give users flexibility without making the decision-making process feel complicated.

Next, users can decide how they want to contribute. They can either set a fixed monthly amount or opt to round up their daily transactions to the nearest dollar, with the extra going to their chosen fund. This required integrating with Plaid, which allows users to link their bank accounts seamlessly.

Once everything is set up, users land on their personalized dashboard, where they can see exactly how their contributions are adding up.

The dashboard is where users can really see the impact they’re making. It includes a card that tracks both monthly contributions and round-ups, and it’s easy to manage accounts—link new ones or unlink old ones without any hassle.

To make the experience more engaging, I built a dynamic chart using Airbnb’s visx package. The chart gives users a visual representation of their contribution trends over time, adding a personal touch to how they see their impact.

Keeping users in the loop was another key focus. I added snackbars for instant feedback on actions—whether it’s an error or a success message. These are powered by Redux and integrated with the app’s data-fetching logic, ensuring users get timely updates without feeling overwhelmed.

Building Zark was about more than just creating a tool; it was about connecting people to causes that matter to them. By focusing on a seamless onboarding experience, easy fund selection, and a visually engaging dashboard, Zark empowers the diaspora to make a real difference back home—one transaction at a time.