I'm Chris Odhiambo, a Kenya-based full-stack developer and the founder of Christech, a software studio building production web and mobile products for African markets. Over the past several months I've shipped and maintained more than a dozen live products — CRMs, HR systems, school management platforms, e-commerce marketplaces, civic-reporting tools, and a real-time trading companion — each running in production, not sitting as a demo.
My work is deliberately end-to-end. I design the database schema and API layer, build the frontend, wire up local payment infrastructure (M-Pesa/Daraja, PayHero), integrate KYC providers (Didit, Persona), configure and debug the deployment pipeline, and stay on the project through production incidents — not just the first release. I move fluidly across frameworks depending on what a project actually needs: Django when I want a mature, batteries-included backend; SvelteKit or Next.js depending on the frontend's complexity and SEO needs; Laravel for legacy PHP systems I've inherited and modernized; Expo/React Native for mobile.
A recurring thread across almost everything I build is Kenya-specific infrastructure — products that need to work with M-Pesa, handle KES pricing, pass KYC compliance, and serve users on inconsistent connectivity. That's a narrow, practical specialty that a lot of generalist developers don't have deep reps in, and it's where I spend most of my time.
I'm based in Nairobi and open to freelance and contract engagements — reach out via Christech.
What I bring to a team or client engagement:
- End-to-end ownership — schema design, API architecture, frontend, deployment, and post-launch fixes, not just one layer of the stack
- A track record of shipping to production repeatedly, not just prototyping — most projects below are live and serving real users
- Deep fluency in the specific integrations Kenyan products need: M-Pesa/Daraja, Didit/Persona KYC, PayHero — the unglamorous plumbing that makes local products actually work
- Comfort moving across frameworks (Next.js, Django, SvelteKit, Laravel, Expo) rather than being locked to one stack, so the tool fits the problem instead of the other way around
Payments, KYC & Messaging (Kenya-focused)
- Ship, then iterate — I default to getting a working version live and deployed early, then hardening it, rather than over-engineering before there are real users.
- Own deployment, not just code — I handle CI/CD, environment configuration, and production incident debugging myself (Railway, Docker, Vercel, Cloudflare), so handoffs don't stall on infrastructure.
- Security-conscious by habit — credential rotation, RLS/multitenancy boundaries, and webhook signature verification (e.g. HMAC-SHA256 on KYC callbacks) are standard practice, not afterthoughts.
- Pragmatic about dependencies — I regularly audit and strip unused or version-incompatible packages rather than letting dependency bloat accumulate.
Christech is my software studio, building end-to-end digital products — web platforms, mobile apps, and backend systems — for businesses and communities across Kenya.
|
Full CRM platform built with Django + SvelteKit, handling client relationships and business operations end-to-end.
|
Human resource management system streamlining employee records, attendance, and payroll workflows for growing teams.
|
|
CBC-aligned school management platform for Kenyan institutions — admin dashboards, learner records, and academic tracking.
|
Travel and tour booking platform showcasing Kenyan destinations with a clean, conversion-focused booking experience.
|
|
A Kenyan dating and connection platform, built with a focus on trust, safety, and local relevance.
|
Site for a Kenyan youth community organization — programs, donation tiers (M-Pesa & PayPal), team profiles, and civic engagement content.
|
| Project | Description | Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Deriv Compass | Trading companion platform integrating Deriv's REST/WebSocket API for live market data, copy trading & analysis | Next.js · Node.js · WebSockets |
| Zuri Market | E-commerce marketplace for Kenyan sellers with KYC-gated onboarding and a full seller analytics dashboard | Next.js · Supabase · Didit KYC |
| House Hunt Kisii | Property marketplace with tiered subscriptions (M-Pesa via PayHero) and verified listings | Next.js 15 · Supabase |
| Kenya Voices | Civic issue-reporting platform with a full government directory (ministries, counties, agencies) | TanStack Start · Supabase |
| Smart POS | Multi-tenant point-of-sale SaaS for Kenyan SMEs with M-Pesa/Daraja billing | Next.js · Laravel · Prisma |
| Comrade Duka | Campus marketplace built for Kenyan university students | React · Vite · Socket.io |
| Sokoni KE | Jumia-style marketplace with Persona KYC and real-time messaging | Next.js · Clerk · Prisma |
Building for Kenya, one product at a time. 🇰🇪


