EBL Universal | AI-Enabled E-Commerce & Communications Ecosystem
A next-generation e-commerce and communications platform built for the African mobile-tech retail market, combining WooCommerce, WhatsApp automation, product data intelligence, and AI-assisted customer interaction.
Project Description
EBL Universal is a next-generation e-commerce and communications ecosystem built for the African mobile-tech retail market. The platform reimagines how repair shops, distributors, and consumers connect by combining high-fidelity product data with human-style interaction powered by AI.
The project began with a clear vision: to transform the fragmented spare-parts buying experience in Lagos and West Africa into a single intelligent system that understands product variants, order intent, stock availability, customer questions, and WhatsApp-first communication behaviour.
The result is a connected commerce experience that works as a retail platform, a virtual assistant, and a product data engine, designed to scale across West Africa and serve as a digital transformation model for emerging markets.
Project Overview
I designed and developed the system architecture from the ground up, focusing on speed, automation, local relevance, and WhatsApp-native customer behaviour. The front end was built around a modular WordPress and WooCommerce core, extended with a custom EBL Chat Assistant plugin.
Customers can browse products, ask questions, place orders, and receive shipping updates directly through WhatsApp, supported by intelligent template logic, webhook orchestration, product metadata, and automated communication workflows.
Market Problem
Mobile phone parts buying across Lagos and wider West African markets is often fragmented. Customers and repair shops frequently deal with inconsistent product naming, unclear compatibility, manual stock checks, price uncertainty, and communication delays across multiple informal channels.
- Fragmented spare-parts buying experience across shops, distributors, and customers.
- Inconsistent product naming for screens, cameras, batteries, and charging components.
- Manual communication through WhatsApp without proper order tracking or automation.
- Poor product variant clarity across iPhone, Samsung, Infinix, Tecno, and Vivo parts.
- Limited product data structure for predictive search and compatibility-based browsing.
- Difficulty scaling communication and order handling without increasing admin workload.
Built for African Mobile-Tech Commerce
The platform was designed around the real behaviour of mobile-tech customers in West Africa, where WhatsApp is often the primary commerce interface and product clarity is critical for repair shops and distributors.
Key Features Built
WooCommerce Retail Platform
Built a modular e-commerce foundation using WordPress and WooCommerce, structured for mobile phone parts, repair accessories, product categories, stock management, and customer orders.
Custom EBL Chat Assistant Plugin
Developed a custom plugin that connects the store experience with AI-assisted customer communication and WhatsApp-based order handling.
Meta WhatsApp Cloud API Integration
Integrated Meta WhatsApp Cloud API to allow customers to ask questions, receive updates, and communicate with the business through WhatsApp.
WhatsApp-Based Ordering
Designed flows that allow customers to browse, ask questions, express purchase intent, and receive order updates directly through WhatsApp.
Product Data Automation
Built automation for standardising product CSV imports across 500+ SKUs, improving product consistency, category structure, and search quality.
Multi-Channel Stock Syncing
Designed backend logic for syncing product and stock information across web and WhatsApp communication channels.
Dynamic Pricing Intelligence
Added pricing intelligence concepts to support flexible pricing, margin visibility, local market responsiveness, and category-level pricing control.
Predictive Product Search
Built relationships between screens, camera modules, charging components, and device categories to support better predictive search and compatibility matching.
Commerce and Communication Logic
Human-Style AI Interaction
The system was designed to make customer communication feel natural, direct, and helpful instead of forcing users through rigid e-commerce workflows.
WhatsApp-Native Experience
Customers can interact through the channel they already use daily, reducing friction and making the store more accessible for mobile-tech buyers.
Template Logic and Webhooks
Automated WhatsApp templates and webhook orchestration support customer updates, intent capture, order communication, and structured response handling.
Product Variant Intelligence
Product data is structured so the system can better understand product variants, related parts, compatibility groups, and customer order intent.
System Architecture
Frontend Commerce Layer
A WordPress and WooCommerce storefront provides product browsing, category navigation, checkout structure, and customer-facing retail functionality.
Custom Plugin Layer
The EBL Chat Assistant plugin extends WooCommerce with WhatsApp communication, AI-assisted support, message templates, and workflow automation.
Data Automation Layer
CSV import processing standardises product data, maps device categories, cleans naming patterns, and supports structured search behaviour across hundreds of SKUs.
Communication Layer
Meta WhatsApp Cloud API, webhook handlers, and template-based messaging power order updates, customer questions, shipping communication, and WhatsApp-first sales support.
Product Data Intelligence
Beyond the front end, the back-end system includes product data automation, multi-channel stock syncing, and dynamic pricing intelligence. The platform automatically standardises product CSV imports for over 500 SKUs across iPhone, Samsung, Infinix, Tecno, and Vivo categories.
It also builds relationships between screens, camera modules, charging components, batteries, and related mobile parts, enabling better predictive search and a more intelligent product discovery experience for repair shops and retail customers.
- Standardised product naming across hundreds of mobile phone parts.
- Improved product category clarity for major device brands.
- Built compatibility relationships between related components.
- Supported predictive search across screens, camera modules, and charging parts.
- Prepared the catalogue for WhatsApp-based product discovery and ordering.
Project Outcome
The outcome is a fully connected, AI-enabled commerce experience: part retail platform, part virtual assistant, and part data engine. The platform is designed to scale across West Africa while serving as a digital transformation model for emerging markets.
- Created a WooCommerce-powered retail platform for African mobile-tech commerce.
- Integrated WhatsApp-first customer communication through Meta WhatsApp Cloud API.
- Built a custom EBL Chat Assistant plugin for AI-assisted customer interaction.
- Automated product CSV standardisation across 500+ SKUs.
- Improved product discovery through structured variant and component relationships.
- Enabled customers to browse, ask questions, place orders, and receive updates through WhatsApp.
- Designed the platform to support digital commerce transformation across emerging African markets.
My Role
Full-Stack WordPress Developer and E-Commerce Systems Architect
I designed and developed the system architecture from the ground up, including the WordPress and WooCommerce storefront, the custom EBL Chat Assistant plugin, the WhatsApp communication layer, and the product data automation workflow.
I also handled the integration of Meta WhatsApp Cloud API, product CSV standardisation, variant mapping, stock syncing logic, dynamic pricing concepts, and the overall commerce automation strategy.
Technical Architecture
Frontend and Storefront
- WordPress
- WooCommerce
- HTML5
- CSS3
- JavaScript
- Responsive e-commerce design
Plugin and Backend
- Custom WordPress plugin development
- PHP 8+
- WooCommerce integration
- Product data automation
- CSV import standardisation
- Stock syncing logic
Communication and Automation
- Meta WhatsApp Cloud API
- Webhook orchestration
- WhatsApp template logic
- AI-assisted customer interaction
- Order update automation
- Product discovery workflows
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