Customers often want to support local businesses but lack a centralized way to discover nearby stores and products online. At the same time, local vendors struggle to gain digital visibility and compete with large e-commerce platforms. They needed an accessible tool to manage their online presence, inventory, and orders.

The platform was needed to bridge this gap, connecting local supply with local demand through a modern, location-aware mobile experience.

As the Lead Full-Stack & Backend Architect, I was responsible for the full technical strategy and execution:

Designed a scalable, modular backend architecture using NestJS

Architected the database schema using PostgreSQL and Redis

Developed GraphQL and REST APIs for flexible and efficient data access

Containerized the application with Docker and deployed on Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Built the cross-platform mobile frontend with FlutterFlow

The primary objective was to build a scalable, high-performance, feature-rich local marketplace. Specific goals included:

Provide customers with an intuitive, map-based interface for discovering and purchasing from nearby vendors in real-time

Empower local vendors with a comprehensive dashboard to manage digital storefronts, inventory, and orders

Architect a modular, maintainable backend to support future growth and new features

The Qarib platform creates a thriving local e-commerce ecosystem:

Empowers local economies by giving vendors a world-class digital tool to reach more customers

Offers a superior user experience for customers with real-time, location-based discovery

Modular NestJS architecture ensures future-proof maintainability and rapid feature addition

Use of Redis caching and PostgreSQL ensures fast, responsive performance even at scale

Developed a powerful backend in NestJS (TypeScript) following a strict modular architecture, isolating business domains (Users, Products, Orders, Stores) for maintainability and testability

Containerized with Docker and deployed on GCP, ensuring scalability and consistent performance

Keywords: NestJS, TypeScript, Modular Architecture, Microservices, Google Cloud (GCP), Docker, Node.js

Implemented a hybrid API approach: GraphQL for complex queries (e.g., fetching products with variants and store details in a single request) and REST APIs for simpler interactions and webhooks

Keywords: GraphQL, REST API, API Design, API Gateway

PostgreSQL for robust relational data management (orders, products, user roles, etc.)

Redis as a caching layer to accelerate frequently accessed data like popular products and location-based queries

Keywords: PostgreSQL, Redis, Caching Strategies, Database Design, SQL

Built a polished, responsive cross-platform app (iOS & Android)

Integrated with backend APIs for features including Google Maps-based store discovery, real-time inventory updates, and vendor dashboards

Implemented multilingual (Arabic/English) and multi-currency support

Keywords: FlutterFlow, Cross-Platform, Geolocation, Google Maps API, Real-time Data