IROKO AI Compliance Platform
Regulatory compliance intelligence and automated rule evaluation platform for Nigerian microfinance banks
Problem
Nigerian microfinance banks manually track regulatory compliance across thousands of daily transaction records using fragmented spreadsheets. Without a centralized automated evaluation system, regulatory violations go unnoticed until expensive Central Bank or external audits catch them, exposing banks to severe fines and operational risks.
Solution
Built an intelligent compliance platform that ingests raw banking transaction data and evaluates it in real-time against configurable regulatory rules to flag potential violations before audit cycles. Features automated compliance audit report generation and an extensible rule engine.
How It Was Built (Architecture & Implementation)
Compliance Rule Engine (RESTful APIs)
Designed high-performance REST APIs capable of ingesting batch transaction streams and executing them against modular regulatory evaluation criteria (e.g., flagging unverified account transfers >$10k or detecting structuring patterns).
Dynamic Configuration Architecture
Engineered a decoupled, configurable rule execution engine. Instead of hardcoding regulatory thresholds into backend application code, the system allows compliance officers and admins to dynamically add, modify, and tune compliance rules on the fly.
Data Modeling & Audit Reporting
Architected relational PostgreSQL data models optimized for transactional time-series queries and rapid aggregation, enabling one-click generation of comprehensive, audit-ready compliance reports for regulatory bodies.
How I Improved It Over Time (Evolution & Iteration)
[ Day 1–3 (Hackathon Scope & Data Pipeline) ]
During a high-pressure 7-day hackathon, led initial scope definition to pinpoint the top regulatory friction points for microfinance institutions. Rapidly resolved critical data access and ingestion pipeline blockers by Day 3.
[ Day 4–7 (Pivoting to Dynamic Rule Engine) ]
Started with hardcoded regulatory checks to validate the concept. Mid-sprint, architecturally refactored the core evaluation engine into a configurable rules database so non-technical compliance officers could independently manage thresholds without engineering intervention.
Outcome & Business Impact
Successfully shipped, tested, and deployed the complete system in just 7 days. The platform was validated on-site by microfinance domain experts during the live demo, proving the ability to lead cross-functional teams under intense time constraints while delivering mission-critical financial software.
My Role & Execution
Project Manager & Backend Lead (Hackathon Team of 5). Wore two hats: As PM, led scope definition, daily standups, unblocking data pipelines, and coordinating frontend, QA, and design deliverables. As Backend Engineer, designed the core REST APIs, PostgreSQL schema, and the dynamic compliance rule engine.
Key Learnings
- Leading cross-functional engineering teams to ship production-grade systems under extreme 7-day constraints
- Architecting dynamic, configurable rule engines that empower domain experts without code deployments
- Translating complex Nigerian banking regulatory frameworks into clean data models and algorithmic checks