How I Built a WhatsApp-Based Ad-Tech Platform Using .NET and Automation (From Nigeria to the World)

In 2023, I led the technical development of Koboview, a WhatsApp-status based advertising platform that helps brands reach a highly engaged audience via peer-to-peer promotion and rewards users for it.

Koboview was built with scalability, automation, and impact in mind. It allows advertisers to create campaigns that are automatically distributed to users who share them on their WhatsApp status. The system tracks engagements in real time, calculates payouts, and provides campaign analytics for advertisers.

This post breaks down the vision, technical approach, architecture, and what I learned building this as a fullstack .NET developer and CTO.

💡 The Problem & The Vision

WhatsApp dominates communication in Africa, yet few brands are using it effectively for ads. Our idea was simple:

“Let people earn by sharing ads as status updates, and let brands pay only when real engagement happens.”

With this, Koboview was born. An ad-tech solution designed around user trust, real performance, and automated rewards all powered by custom software.

🔧 Tech Stack & Why I Chose It

o Backend: ASP.NET Core (.NET 6) for scalable, secure, and familiar to my team

o Frontend: Razor Pages + Bootstrap for clean server-side rendering with quick UI updates

o Database: SQL Server for relational structure ideal for transactional data (ads, payouts)

o File Storage: AWS S3 which handles ad media uploads, user proofs, etc.

o Task Automation: Hosted services in .NET for background tasks

o DevOps: GitHub + Azure DevOps pipelines for CI/CD

.NET gave us the performance, security, and maintainability we needed — all while staying lean with Razor Pages for quick UI setups.

🧱 System Architecture (Simplified)

We used a layered approach:

User Layer: Registration, dashboard, share tracking
Advertiser Layer: Campaign creation, budget allocation, real-time reports
Admin Layer: Review ads, manage users, analytics dashboard
Automation Layer: Background service to assign ads, track engagement, trigger payouts

To prevent fraud, we implemented:

Screenshot validation
View limit per campaign
Engagement timestamp checks

🚀 Key Features I Designed & Built

1. Ad Pool Distribution

Advertisers submit their ads to a pool. The system automatically assigns them to users based on category, location, or engagement history.

2. Status Engagement Tracking

Users upload screenshots as proof of ad-sharing. Our system verifies based on image hash, timestamp, and user pattern.

3. Payout Automation

Once a campaign completes, the system calculates user earnings and triggers payouts to their wallets with full logs.

4. Analytics Dashboard

Real-time metrics for advertisers and admins: views, clicks, budget usage, top performers.

5. WhatsApp API Integration

We explored the WhatsApp Business API to send reminders and confirmations where needed, while keeping user privacy intact.

🧠 Technical Challenges I Faced

Fraud detection: Many users tried to game the system with fake screenshots. We implemented basic ML checks and validation logic.
Campaign fairness: Some ads got too many shares too quickly. We throttled ad assignments to ensure fair distribution.
Cost control: Ad budgets were sometimes depleted too fast. We added logic to pace ad exposure by hour/day.

📊 Business Impact

🎯 2,000+ users onboarded in the first month
💼 10+ advertisers launched paid campaigns
💰 Enabled micro-earning model for students and youth
📈 Retention grew with gamified badges & payouts

🔗 Live Links

🌐 Website: https://koboview.com

🙋‍♂️ About Me

I'm Onwuka Peter Emeka, a fullstack .NET developer and CTO of Juray Smart Solutions based in Nigeria. I’ve led the design and launch of government-facing MIS, fintech tools, and platforms like Koboview.

I'm passionate about using tech to solve real-world African problems with global-standard solutions.

💬 What’s Next?

I'm now working on improving Koboview’s automation and launching a mobile companion app. I also plan to open-source a slimmed-down version of the ad-pool logic.

👉 Got questions? Building your own ad system? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

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