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About

A team at the crossroads of the technical and the human.

Tchi-n'grafu is an independent tech studio based in Abidjan. We believe good software comes from careful listening as much as from well-written code. No empty promises, no PowerPoint decks, just products that stand up.

Roots

Born from a game. Woven to last.

The Tchi-n'grafu is a children's game of absolute elegance: two cups pierced at the bottom, joined by a taut string. Speak into one and your voice reaches the other, clear, direct, with no technology at all.

That age-old principle is the soul of our company. Like the Akan weaver interlacing weft and warp to create Kente cloth, we interlace your systems to build something solid and beautiful.

“United, the spider's web can hold a lion.”

Akan proverb
Our expertise

Six modules. One single thread.

Six complementary skills, a single point of contact. No need to juggle three suppliers.

Our approach in 4 steps

A proven framework, adapted to every project. Transparent, iterative, no bad surprises.

STEP 01

Framing

Understanding your stakes, constraints and goals. A short workshop, a clear deliverable.

STEP 02

Design

Technical architecture, interface design, user journeys, costed roadmap.

STEP 03

Development

Short iterations, regular demos, quality held by code reviews and tests.

STEP 04

Production

Go-live, monitoring, training for your teams, ongoing maintenance.

Got a project in mind?

First conversation free, no strings attached, within 48 hours.

Start now
Our philosophy

“Two cups, one string and the words cross over.”

Kente is no ordinary cloth. Every colour, every pattern tells a story. Gold: wealth. Red: courage. Green: growth.

Our tech solutions are woven the same way: every layer means something, every connection carries something precious. We don't only write code, we weave connections.

Clarity

No jargon, no empty promises. We say what we do, we do what we say, and we document it.

Robustness

We prefer a simple product that stands up to a complex one that collapses at the first spike.

Sovereignty

Your data stays yours. European hosting and open source solutions you can actually control.

Long term

Readable code, explainable architecture. We build maintainable products, not prototypes ready to die.

Our values

Four principles that guide every decision, every line of code, every client conversation.

Clarity

No jargon, no empty promises. We say what we do, we do what we say, and we document everything we deliver.

Robustness

We prefer a simple product that stands up to a complex one that collapses at the first traffic spike.

Sovereignty

Your data stays yours. European or African hosting, your choice, with open source solutions you can control.

Long term

Readable code, explainable architecture. We design maintainable products, not prototypes ready to die.

The team

Four complementary profiles, one collective. Every project is led by 1 to 3 of us, depending on what it needs.

AK

Aké Kouassi

Founder · CTO

12 years building B2B SaaS. Specialised in distributed systems and performance.

FM

Fatou Mbaye

Lead Developer

Weaves lines of code with the precision of an Akan weaver. React, Next.js, accessibility.

OD

Omar Diallo

Cloud Architect

AWS and Kubernetes certified. Specialist in migrations to sovereign cloud.

NB

Nadia Belemba

UX & Design

Design systems, user research, WCAG level AAA accessibility.

Our story

From freelance to structured collective, step by step, with no fundraising and no rush.

2018

Founded

First client, first site delivered. Independent status, modest ambition.

2020

SaaS pivot

Focus on B2B products. First recurring clients.

2022

Team of 4

The collective takes shape. Fatou, Omar and then Nadia join the adventure.

2024

50 projects delivered

A symbolic milestone. First open-source release.

2026

Regional presence

Shared office in Abidjan, engagements extended across West Africa.

Work together?

We take on around ten projects a year. Yours might be one of them.

Get in touch