Wealthguide

Wealthguide

Inspiration

Everyone on our team comes from a family of newcomers and just as it is difficult to come into a new country, we had to adapt very quickly to the Canadian system. Our team took this challenge as an opportunity to create something that our communities could deeply benefit from when they arrive in Canada. A product that adapts to them, instead of the other way around. With some insight from our parents, we were inspired to create this product that would help newcomers to Canada, Indigenous peoples, and modest income families. Wealthguide will be a helping hand for many people and for the future.

What it does

A finance program portal that provides interactive and accessible financial literacies to customers in marginalized communities improving their financially intelligence, discipline and overall, the Canadian economy 🪙. Along with these daily tips, users have access to brief video explanations of each daily tip with the ability to view them in multiple languages and subtitles. There will be short, quick easy plans to inform users with limited knowledge on the Canadian financial system or existing programs for marginalized communities. Marginalized groups can earn benefits for the program by completing plans and attempting short quiz assessments. Users can earn reward points ✨ that can be converted to ca$h credits for more support in their financial needs!

How we built it

The front end was built using React Native, an open-source UI software framework in combination with Expo to run the app on our mobile devices and present our demo. The programs were written in JavaScript to create the UI/UX interface/dynamics and CSS3 to style and customize the aesthetics. Figma, Canva and Notion were tools used in the ideation stages to create graphics, record brainstorms and document content.

Challenges we ran into

Designing and developing a product that can simplify the large topics under financial literacy, tools and benefits for users and customers while making it easy to digest and understand such information | We ran into the challenge of installing npm packages and libraries on our operating systems. However, with a lot of research and dedication, we as a team resolved the ‘Execution Policy” error that prevented expo from being installed on Windows OS | Trying to use the Modal function to enable pop-ups on the screen. There were YouTube videos of them online but they were very difficult to follow especially for a beginner | Small and merge errors prevented the app from running properly which delayed our demo completion.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Kemi 😆 I am proud to have successfully implemented new UI/UX elements such as expandable and collapsible content and vertical and horizontal scrolling. Tireni 😎 One accomplishment I’m proud of is that despite being new to React Native, I was able to learn enough about it to make one of the pages on our app. Ayesha 😁 I used Figma to design some graphics of the product bringing the aesthetic to life!

What we learned

Kemi 😆 I learned the importance of financial literacy and responsibility and that FinTech is a powerful tool that can help improve financial struggles people may face, especially those in marginalized communities. Tireni 😎 I learned how to resolve the ‘Execution Policy” error that prevented expo from being installed on VS Code. Ayesha 😁 I learned how to use tools in Figma and applied it in the development of the UI/UX interface.

What's next for Wealthguide

Newsletter Subscription 📰: Up to date information on current and today’s finance news. Opportunity for Wealthsimple product promotion as well as partnering with Wealthsimple companies, sponsors and organizations. Wealthsimple Channels & Tutorials 🎥: Knowledge is key. Learn more and have access to guided tutorials on how to properly file taxes, obtain a credit card with benefits, open up savings account, apply for mortgages, learn how to budget and more. Finance Calendar 📆: Get updates on programs, benefits, loans and new stocks including when they open during the year and the application deadlines. E.g OSAP Applications.