A high-signal discovery platform for credible voices in the African tech and venture ecosystem.
Silicon Xchange builds access infrastructure connecting Silicon Valley and African tech ecosystems. This platform solves the fragmented discovery and trust problem by providing a credible, curated directory of who to read/watch/listen to in Africa venture & tech.
- 98+ Verified Creators: Extracted from real ecosystem recommendations
- Smart Search & Filters: By geography, topic, and media format
- Trust Score System: Game-theory resistant ranking algorithm
- User Authentication: Email-based signup/signin
- Recommendation System: Users vouch for creators with mandatory rationale
- Admin Dashboard: Approve/reject submissions, manage profiles
Our trust score (6.0-10.0) considers:
- Recommendation count with diminishing returns (prevents spam)
- Recommender credibility (Investors > Founders > Operators)
- Time decay (recent recommendations valued more)
- Diversity (multiple unique recommenders > repeat)
- Velocity checks (flags suspicious gaming patterns)
- Frontend: Next.js 16, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
- Backend: Supabase (PostgreSQL + Auth)
- Icons: Lucide React
- Deployment: Vercel
- Node.js 18+
- Supabase account
- Git
- Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/CeciliaMutero/silicon-xchange-app.git
cd silicon-xchange-app- Install dependencies
npm install- Set up environment variables
Create .env.local:
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=your_supabase_project_url
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=your_supabase_anon_key- Set up database
Run the SQL scripts in Supabase SQL Editor (see docs/database-setup.sql)
- Seed initial data
# Update credentials in scripts/extract-real-data.ts
npx ts-node scripts/extract-real-data.ts- Run development server
npm run dev- profiles: Creator profiles (name, bio, geography, topics, trust_score, status)
- recommendations: User recommendations (profile_id, user_id, rationale)
- user_profiles: User authentication data (full_name, professional_role, is_admin)
- Browse 98+ creators sorted by trust score
- Filter by geography, topic, or format
- Sign up to recommend creators
- Provide detailed rationale for recommendations
- Access
/admin(requires admin privileges) - Review pending submissions
- Approve/reject profiles
- Monitor recommendation activity
- No anonymous vouching: All recommendations tied to verified identities
- Mandatory rationale: Forces thoughtful recommendations
- Weighted signals: Professional role determines recommendation weight
- Velocity detection: Flags suspicious burst activity
- Diversity bonus: Rewards broad ecosystem support
- Citation/cross-platform mention verification
- Decay system for inactive creators
- Network graph analysis for reciprocal rings
- Signal verification via content quality metrics
silicon-xchange-app/ ├── app/ │ ├── page.tsx # Homepage │ ├── admin/page.tsx # Admin dashboard │ ├── submit/page.tsx # Creator submission form │ └── layout.tsx ├── components/ │ ├── AuthModal.tsx # Login/Signup modal │ └── RecommendModal.tsx # Recommendation modal ├── lib/ │ ├── supabase.ts # Supabase client │ ├── auth.ts # Auth helpers │ └── trust-score.ts # Trust algorithm └── scripts/ └── extract-real-data.ts # Data seeding script
Deployed on Vercel:
- Production: (https://your-app.vercel.app)
- Auto-deploys from
mainbranch
- Role-weighted recommendations (investors carry more weight)
- Diminishing returns on recommendation count
- Diversity bonus for unique recommenders
- Velocity penalties for suspicious patterns
- Time decay algorithm favors recent activity
- Admin review queue for quality control
- Community-driven curation
- Network effects: more users = better signal
- Data moat: proprietary trust scores
- Community trust: verified ecosystem participants
- Content graph: relationships between creators
This is a candidate assessment project for Silicon Xchange.
Candidate retains code ownership. Silicon Xchange retains brand and strategic concepts.
Data extracted from Ashley Njoroge's LinkedIn ecosystem mapping initiative. 98 creators representing the best voices in African tech.
Built with ❤️ for the African tech ecosystem