CampusPadi

Inspiration

As a Computer Science undergraduate, I watched my Class Representative struggle to collect departmental dues. The process was broken: endless lists of names copied and pasted into chats, screenshots of bank transfers getting lost in the feed, and the constant, anxious question from students: "Did you see my payment?"

I realized that for African students, paying for school fees isn't just annoying—it’s a financial risk. We were managing millions of Naira in collected funds using tools built for texting, not banking.

I didn't just want to build a payment gateway. I wanted to build a System that handles the "business" of being a student, from the money you owe to the grades you earn.

What it does

Primarily, it acts as a secure financial hub that replaces the disorganized mess of collecting departmental dues via group chats and random bank transfers.

For Class Reps: It provides a unified dashboard to create fees, manage collections, and track payments in real-time without spreadsheets.

For Students: It offers a single secure interface to view outstanding debts, pay via bank transfer or card, and receive an instant, verifiable PDF receipt.

Beyond finance, CampusPadi is a digital companion for academic success. It includes a CGPA Calculator with cloud persistence , a Notes Manager for organizing study materials , and an AI Padi Assistant that answers academic questions and summarizes complex topics.

How we built it

We architected CampusPadi as a robust, monolithic application prioritizing speed and data consistency, which are critical for students with varying internet connectivity.

Tech Stack: We used Laravel (PHP) for a secure backend to handle financial transactions and React + Vite + TypeScript for the frontend.

Financial Logic: A core component is our split-payment engine. When a student pays a fee, the system dynamically calculates the Total Transaction Amount ($T$) to ensure the Class Rep receives the exact Principal ($P$) while the Platform Fee ($F$) is handled transparently:$$T = P + F$$Where $F$ is derived from the payment gateway charges and our service markup.

Academic Engine: To help students track their performance, we implemented a weighted mean algorithm for the CGPA calculator that handles historical data across semesters:$$\text{CGPA} = \frac{\sum (G_i \times U_i)}{\sum U_i}$$Where $G_i$ is the Grade Point and $U_i$ is the Course Unit.

Challenges we ran into

The "Trust Gap": Students in Nigeria are often skeptical of new digital payment links. We had to overcome this by building an automated Official Receipt system. Generating a trustworthy PDF document instantly after payment was technically demanding but crucial for adoption.

Complex Permissions: Designing a system where a user can be both a "Student" in one context and a "Class Rep" in another required intricate database modeling. We used complex Pivot tables to manage relationships between Users, Classes, and Fees securely.

Payment Reliability: Handling asynchronous webhooks from our payment provider (Tranzakt) was a major hurdle. We implemented idempotency checks to prevent double-crediting or database corruption during network lag

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are most proud of building a solution from the "inside out." As computer science undergraduates, we didn't just guess what students needed; we built the tool we needed (Built for students, by students.).

Seamless Integration: successfully merging "Fintech" (payments) with "Edutech" (notes/CGPA) into a single, cohesive experience rather than two separate apps.

Digital Transformation: We turned a manual, multi-step process involving bank apps, screenshots, and manual verification into a one-click digital action.

What we learned

Mobile-First is Non-Negotiable: Designing for the "low-data and mobile-first habits" of Nigerian students taught us to optimize every byte and ensure the dashboard remains performant on slower networks.

What's next for CampusPadi

We are moving beyond just managing data to actively improving student outcomes with our Ultra Tier.

AI OCR Extraction: We are developing a feature that allows students to snap a photo of their physical result sheet, using OCR to automatically extract and digitize their grades.

AI Tutor Mode: We plan to launch "Al Padi," a personalized tutor that can generate custom courses and quizzes based on a student's specific syllabus.

Expansion: Our vision is to become the single app on every student's phone across Africa for managing their entire school life.