Canopus Technologies

<h1>Dari TN - Tunisia's #1 Student Housing Platform</h1><p></p><p></p><h2>📋 Project Background / Context</h2><p></p><p>Dari TN was born from a critical gap in Tunisia's student housing market. Thousands of students struggled each academic year to find affordable accommodation near universities, while landlords had no efficient way to reach them. I founded and built Dari as a mobile-first marketplace to connect students with verified housing options, roommates, and landlords - creating Tunisia's first comprehensive student housing ecosystem.</p><p><strong>Role:</strong> Founder &amp; Lead Mobile Developer<br><strong>Duration:</strong> July 2023 - Present<br><strong>Platform:</strong> iOS, Android, Web</p><p></p><p></p><h2>🔧 Process &amp; Key Deliverables</h2><p></p><h3>Phase 1: MVP Development (Month 1-2)</h3><ul><li><p>Architected scalable Flutter application with Provider state management</p></li><li><p>Built core property listing system with advanced filtering (price, location, amenities)</p></li><li><p>Integrated Google Maps SDK with custom distance calculation from universities</p></li><li><p>Implemented Firebase backend for real-time data sync</p></li><li><p>Designed intuitive student and landlord user flows</p></li></ul><p></p><h3>Phase 2: Growth Features (Month 2-4)</h3><ul><li><p>Developed <strong>Tinder-style roommate matching system</strong> - students swipe to find compatible roommates based on budget, lifestyle, and university proximity</p></li><li><p>Built <strong>real-time chat system</strong> using <a href="http://Socket.IO" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Socket.IO</a> handling thousands of concurrent conversations</p></li><li><p>Created landlord/agency dashboard with listing management, analytics, and messaging</p></li><li><p>Implemented <strong>points-based visibility boost system</strong> for premium listings</p></li><li><p>Added secure in-app payment gateway integration</p></li></ul><p></p><h3>Phase 3: Premium Features (Month 4-6)</h3><ul><li><p>Developed <strong>interactive 3D floor plans</strong> for enhanced property visualization</p></li><li><p>Built comprehensive analytics dashboard showing views, favorites, conversion rates</p></li><li><p>Implemented push notifications for new matches, messages, and property alerts</p></li><li><p>Created web platform for agencies to manage multiple properties</p></li><li><p>Added automated property verification and fraud detection</p></li></ul><p></p><h3>Technical Highlights</h3><ul><li><p><strong>Architecture:</strong> Clean modular architecture with separation of concerns</p></li><li><p><strong>State Management:</strong> Provider for predictable state flow</p></li><li><p><strong>Real-time:</strong> <a href="http://Socket.IO" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Socket.IO</a> for chat + Firebase for data sync</p></li><li><p><strong>Performance:</strong> Optimized image loading with caching, lazy loading for 5,000+ listings</p></li><li><p><strong>Testing:</strong> Unit tests for business logic, widget tests for UI components</p></li><li><p><strong>CI/CD:</strong> Automated deployment pipeline for iOS, Android, and Web</p></li></ul><p></p><p></p><h2>📊 Impact &amp; Results</h2><p></p><h3>User Growth</h3><ul><li><p><strong>40,000+ students</strong> reached in under 2 months</p></li><li><p><strong>#1 ranking on App Store</strong> (Tunisia, Lifestyle category)</p></li><li><p><strong>5,000+ active property listings</strong> across major Tunisian cities</p></li></ul><p></p><h3>Business Impact</h3><ul><li><p><strong>60% reduction</strong> in average time students spend searching for housing (from 3 weeks to 1 week)</p></li><li><p><strong>3,000+ successful matches</strong> between students and landlords</p></li><li><p><strong>500+ roommate connections</strong> through the matching system</p><p></p></li></ul><h3>Technical Performance</h3><ul><li><p><strong>&lt;2 second</strong> average page load time</p></li><li><p><strong>99.9% uptime</strong> since launch</p></li><li><p><strong>Zero critical bugs</strong> in production</p></li></ul><p></p><h3>Market Position</h3><ul><li><p>Became the <strong>go-to platform</strong> for student housing in Tunisia</p></li><li><p>Featured in local media and university partner programs</p></li><li><p>Organic growth through word-of-mouth and student communities</p></li></ul><p></p><p></p><h2>🎯 Key Challenges Solved</h2><p></p><ol><li><p><strong>Scale:</strong> Architected system to handle rapid user growth from 0 to 40K without performance degradation</p></li><li><p><strong>Real-time at scale:</strong> Built chat system supporting thousands of concurrent conversations with low latency</p></li><li><p><strong>Trust &amp; Safety:</strong> Implemented verification systems to reduce fraudulent listings by 90%</p></li><li><p><strong>Cross-platform consistency:</strong> Maintained identical UX across iOS, Android, and Web</p></li><li><p><strong>Offline capability:</strong> Enabled property browsing and favorites even without internet connection</p></li></ol><p></p><p></p><h2>🛠 Technologies Used</h2><p></p><ul><li><p><strong>Frontend:</strong> Flutter, Dart</p></li><li><p><strong>State Management:</strong> Provider, Riverpod</p></li><li><p><strong>Backend:</strong> Firebase (Firestore, Auth, Storage, Cloud Functions), Node.js</p></li><li><p><strong>Real-time:</strong> <a href="http://Socket.IO" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Socket.IO</a></p></li><li><p><strong>Maps:</strong> Google Maps SDK with custom overlays and distance calculations</p></li><li><p><strong>Payments:</strong> Flouci payment gateway integration</p></li><li><p><strong>Analytics:</strong> Firebase Analytics, Custom dashboard</p></li><li><p><strong>CI/CD:</strong> Fastlane, GitHub Actions</p></li><li><p><strong>Design:</strong> Figma for UI/UX prototyping</p></li></ul><h2>💡 Lessons Learned</h2><ul><li><p><strong>Speed matters:</strong> Launching fast and iterating based on real user feedback beat waiting for "perfect" features</p></li><li><p><strong>Mobile-first is crucial:</strong> 95% of users accessed via mobile, validating the app-first approach</p></li><li><p><strong>Community drives growth:</strong> Student communities and university partnerships were more effective than paid ads</p></li><li><p><strong>Real-time features create stickiness:</strong> Chat and instant notifications significantly improved engagement</p></li></ul><p></p><p></p><h2>🌐 Links</h2><ul><li><p><strong>Website:</strong> <a href="https://dari.group" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://dari.group</a></p></li><li><p><strong>App Store:</strong> <a href="https://apps.apple.com/de/app/dari-tn/id6461645187?l=en-GB" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://apps.apple.com/de/app/dari-tn/id6461645187?l=en-GB</a></p></li><li><p><strong>Google Play:</strong> <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dari.group&amp;hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dari.group&amp;hl=en</a></p></li></ul><p></p><p></p><h2>📸 Visuals</h2><div class="image-container"><div class="image-row-wrapper"><div class="image-wrapper"><img src="https://cdn.collective.work/cmkbct7v0qqxl6edb7clhg1tf.png"><div class="image-overlay"></div></div></div></div><div class="image-container"><div class="image-row-wrapper"><div class="image-wrapper"><img src="https://cdn.collective.work/cmkbcv86oqazr6ebf0m5ygft4.png"><div class="image-overlay"></div></div></div></div><div class="image-container"><div class="image-row-wrapper"><div class="image-wrapper"><img src="https://cdn.collective.work/cmkbcvhhyqbf16ebf1t3tc2sx.png"><div class="image-overlay"></div></div></div></div><div class="image-container"><div class="image-row-wrapper"><div class="image-wrapper"><img src="https://cdn.collective.work/cmkbcwuv6qwtx6edbdp4cb0zl.png"><div class="image-overlay"></div></div></div></div><div class="image-container"><div class="image-row-wrapper"><div class="image-wrapper"><img src="https://cdn.collective.work/cmkbcx6lnqpx06eeefc1ycl7v.png"><div class="image-overlay"></div></div></div></div><div class="image-container"><div class="image-row-wrapper"><div class="image-wrapper"><img src="https://cdn.collective.work/cmkbcwksoqd4b6ebfbhyfede2.png"><div class="image-overlay"></div></div></div></div><div class="image-container"><div class="image-row-wrapper"><div class="image-wrapper"><img src="https://cdn.collective.work/cmkbcy4mbqfkp6ebf8qyp955c.png"><div class="image-overlay"></div></div></div></div><div class="image-container"><div class="image-row-wrapper"><div class="image-wrapper"><img src="https://cdn.collective.work/cmkbcxhh1qqe06eee9rkjfila.png"><div class="image-overlay"></div></div></div></div><p></p>

Tunisia's #1 student housing app. Built from scratch, reached 40K+ users in 2 months and topped the App Store with innovative features like Tinder-style roommate matching and real-time chat.

Firebase

Mobile Development

Flutter

Dari

Mobile Developer

As a Founder, I am dedicated to making student life easier by addressing the challenges we personally experienced. Our mission is to simplify the search for university housing, helping students find the perfect home and compatible roommates. We are committed to ensuring the best housing experience by continuously improving our platform based on real feedback from students and landlords. Our goal is to make the transition to university life as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

Souheil Bouzouita

Mobile Developer

About me

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Founder

Founder

Software Engineer Intern

Mobile Developer

Education

ISIMM | Higher Institute of Computer Science and Mathematics of Monastir

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Dari

Canopus Technologies

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