Hi, my name is Emmanuel Karanja and I’m aProduct Developer
I design and build digital products; bringing together product thinking, user experience, and engineering to turn ideas into useful, well-crafted software.
- UI/UX Design
- Branding
- Prototyping
- Software Development
- AI Integration
- QA
- CI/CD
- SEO
Get to know me
Hi, I’m Emmanuel. I’m a product designer and software engineer who enjoys turning ideas into digital products, working at the intersection of design and engineering where I can think about how something should work, how it should feel, and then actually build it.
I’m currently the Founder & CTO of Elimu Bora ERP, where I’ve taken our school management platform from an idea to a production SaaS product, working across product, design, engineering, and everything in between. I’ve also designed and worked on products like Sales Zote, Mr Ticketz and Hovit.
Outside of work, I’m usually exploring new ideas, experimenting with technology, working on side projects, or trying to make whatever I’m building a little better than it was yesterday.
My go-to stack
I’m largely stack-agnostic and choose the tools that best fit the product, team, and problem at hand. That said, these are the technologies I reach for most often and where I’m most comfortable building.
Laravel
I use Laravel to build web applications and APIs, handling everything from application logic and authentication to background jobs and integrations.
TypeScript
I use TypeScript to build polished, interactive user experiences with frameworks like React, Vue, Svelte, and Angular, while also building AI integrations such as RAG systems, embeddings, vector search, and other AI-powered features.
PostgreSQL
I use PostgreSQL as my primary relational database, taking advantage of features like Row Level Security and pgvector for secure, multi-tenant applications and vector search.
Tailwind CSS
I use Tailwind CSS to build responsive interfaces quickly while keeping styling consistent, maintainable, and closely aligned with the design system.
Where I’ve worked
Founder & CTO
Oct 2025 - Present
Built Elimu Bora ERP from the ground up, owning product strategy, UI/UX, engineering, and go-to-market. Architected the multi-tenant SaaS platform and shipped core school workflows covering academics, finance, attendance, and parent engagement.
- Laravel
- TypeScript
- Vue.js
- PostgreSQL
- Figma
Full Stack Web Developer & UI/UX Designer
Jul 2023 - Jan 2026
Led product design and development for a platform serving 250k+ registered users. Redesigned core experiences, increasing conversion and engagement by 30%, improved search with Algolia, and shipped a new marketplace feature.
- Laravel
- Vue.js
- MySQL
- Algolia
- Figma
Full Stack Web Developer & UI/UX Designer
Feb 2023 - Jun 2023
Worked directly with the founders to shape the product and deliver rapid iterations that helped onboard the company’s first three paying clients. Led frontend development while contributing to backend services and product UX.
- NestJS
- Typescript
- Angular
- MySQL
- Figma
Full Stack Web Developer & UI/UX Designer
May 2021 - Feb 2023
Designed and built products across fintech, real estate, NFTs, gaming, and logistics, including a finance app serving 20k+ users. Owned UI/UX on several products while contributing to Laravel backend development, SEO, and performance.
- Laravel
- Vue.js
- MySQL
- Figma
IT Intern
Feb 2020 - May 2020
Supported database development, frontend implementation, UI prototyping, and SEO across client projects while working alongside the engineering team.
- Laravel
- Vue.js
- MySQL
My featured work
Elimu Bora ERP
Elimu Bora ERP is a school management platform built for Kenyan schools, bringing academics, attendance, fees, inventory, and parent communication together in one system.
View project
Sales Zote
Sales Zote is a cloud-based POS and inventory management system built to streamline operations for retail, wholesale, and growing chain businesses.
View project
Hovit
Hovit is a feature-rich house-hunting app designed to simplify every step of the renting journey. It entails 4 platforms; Hovit App, H Agent App and H Mover App and a web platform.
View project
Mr Ticketz
MR TICKETZ is a modern ticketing platform with a dedicated mobile app designed specifically for event promoters.
View project
Jahazi
JAHAZI is a mobile-first lending platform designed to offer accessible, transparent borrowing solutions in regions underserved by traditional financial systems.
Coming soon!
People I’ve worked with — Testimonials
Emmanuel just gets it! He breaks down complex challenges with ease and always strives for the sleekest user experience possible. He doesn't just design beautiful UIs in no time but also implements them seamlessly. He never submits work without proper testing. The go-to guy if you want things done quickly and properly. Highly recommended. Great sense of humour and fun to work with.
I had the pleasure of working with Emmanuel, and he is an exceptional developer and UI/UX designer. His attention to detail is unmatched, consistently delivering clean code and pixel-perfect designs that elevate the entire product.
He combines strong technical skills with creative problem-solving, and his collaborative attitude makes him a valuable addition to any team.
I highly recommend him to any organization looking for top talent.
I had the privilege of working with Emmanuel, and I can attest to his outstanding expertise as a UI/UX designer with solid web development skills in Vue.js and Laravel. He consistently demonstrates professionalism, excellent communication, and reliability in meeting deadlines.
Emmanuel excels at understanding requirements and transforming them into well-thought-out, user-friendly solutions. His design skills are truly exceptional, and any team would be fortunate to have him as a contributor.
During our time working side-by-side on the front-end team, Emmanuel consistently demonstrated a deep technical understanding of modern web standards, component-based architecture, and best practices in Vue.js/Laravel technologies.
I have been fortunate to witness the exceptional learning ability while he trained on becoming a designer. I personally can attest to the quality of his work, where he leverages his engineering background to ensure his designs are not only visually excellent but also highly efficient and feasible to implement.