Hive — A simpler way to find, book, rent, or sell property.

What sparked the idea?

The problem wasn’t a mystery. The signs were everywhere. Friends struggling to find decent rentals. People crowdsourcing agents on WhatsApp. Tweets about broken links and shady fees. So we asked ourselves : Why is finding a place to live in Ghana harder than finding love on a dating app?

Most folks start on Airbnb (big fan of their work) - and sure, that’s fine if you’re planning a weekend getaway or running from your responsibilities. But if you actually want to rent a place, buy a home, or sell a property? Good luck. You’re tossed into a maze of half-baked listings, shady agents spread across different platforms, and fed information that expired back when Harry Potter was trending.

I saw a clear gap, started working on a solution and I eventually crossed paths with a few like-minded people who were thinking along the same lines. We teamed up, pooled our brainpower, and Hive was the result.

The vision? Simple: one platform to rule them all. Book a short stay. Rent long-term. Buy. Sell. No app-hopping. No shady agents. No 10 tabs open just to get accurate information on one hotel. Just clean, easy, “I can finally breathe” real estate browsing.

Yeah, other local platforms are out there - but let’s be real: if they were nailing it, this wouldn’t still be a problem. We weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel - just trying to build one that actually turns. We looked to global heavyweights like Rightmove, Opendoor, and PropertyFinder for inspiration, then started mapping out what Hive could be if we did it right.

Did you do any research?

Yeah - nothing fancy or formal. I talked to people. A few agents, some renters, a couple of sellers, and more than enough friends and acquaintances with “you won’t believe what this agent did” stories. I also poked around the usual local platforms - just to see what worked, and what didn’t.

And while I was at it, I zoomed out. Platforms like Opendoor (great for simplifying the home buying process), Rightmove (UK's rental king), Airbnb (the short-stay standard), and even Zillow and PropertyFinder gave us a bigger picture of what "good" looks like when it comes to clarity, trust, and user-first design.

It turned into a mini SWOT: real strengths, glaring gaps, and a lot of missed opportunities. That gave me just enough clarity to start designing something that actually worked.

Opendoor

Rightmove

Airbnb

Zillow

PropertyFinder

What was broken?

The digital local real estate experience was broken at every touchpoint. You’d open most local real estate platforms and immediately wonder if you took a wrong turn into 2012. Basic info was buried or non-existent, listings felt shady or incomplete, bad photos, and the filters? Weirdly specific but still unhelpful. And just when you finally spotted something promising - boom, you get slapped in the face with a wave of banner ads. I’m not “anti-ad”, but come on - even ads should be designed with a little respect for the user. The whole experience didn’t exactly scream “we value your time.”

It felt like most local platforms were designed for the agents, not for actual people - and ironically, agents didn’t even have decent tools either.

Outside Ghana, the bar was just... higher.. Airbnb nailed trust and aesthetics. Opendoor simplified buying. Rightmove made search feel like second nature. Meanwhile here? Users were jumping through hoops just to figure out if a property was real.

Nobody was winning - not renters, not buyers, not agents. What we needed wasn’t more listings. We needed a reset: smarter tools, cleaner design, and a platform that actually felt like it had your back.

MeQasa

Jiji

Realtor.com

The Solution - Hive

How did you approach the design?

I treated this like I was designing for someone’s peace of mind. Real estate already feels like a gamble - the last thing users need is a confusing UI. So I kept it simple, modern, and self explanatory. Less grey boxes, more visual breathing room. Big visuals, bold CTAs, and a structure that felt like "I know where I’m going.” Design wasn’t just about aesthetics - it was about trust, and the right aesthetic plays a big role in that.
After rounds of feedback and several iterations - this is what came out the other side...

Hive

Hive

Hive

Why does it matter?

Because finding a place to live - even for the weekend - shouldn’t feel like detective work. The way we search for property in Ghana just hasn’t caught up with the way we live now. We order food with a tap, move money in seconds… but finding a rental unit still feels like scrolling through a classifieds board from 2010.

Hive brings that same simple, digital energy we expect everywhere else - but to real estate. Simple design. Less guesswork. More confidence.

On feedback? It came in fast and honest. Early testers got it right away. One person said, “Why don’t we already have this?” Another said, “I’d actually trust this. I won’t have to overanalyze every Jiji property listing” And that’s the point - Hive doesn’t just look modern, it feels trustworthy. Agents were onboard with the idea too - excited by a system that didn’t leave them out of the equation.
Even if this was just a concept, the reaction told us we were on the right track.

What did you learn?

That people don’t just want ease - they want certainty. I realized you’re not just designing screens, you’re designing emotional reassurance. So I focused on clear structure, strong copy, and details that signal: this is a place you can trust.

I also got a crash course in balancing complex functionality without letting it turn into a UX maze. Hive had to support booking short stays, renting apartments, and buying homes - all with different user flows, but one unified experience. Each action had to feel tailored, but nothing could feel confusing or out of place. It taught me how to make complex systems feel… simple.

What’s next?

This is just the MVP and we’re just getting started. There’s a lot more to come - smarter search(AI assisted), video/AR walk-throughs and better ways to verify listings. We’re also exploring more ways to build trust into every part of the journey - from discovery to deal-closed. The vision is big, but the goal is simple: make finding property feel a whole lot easier in Ghana and beyond. That’s where this goes next - not just digital real estate, but delightful real estate.

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