Full-Stack Developer to Build AI-Powered Financial Comparison Web App (FinTech MVP)

Project Overview: I’m building a web platform that compares South African tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs), retirement annuities (RAs), and pension funds across the entire market. Think of it as a “Hippo (see www.hippo.co.za) for retirement and tax-free investments.” There are over a thousand products available locally, and no existing tool lets a user compare them all in one place. The platform will use an AI recommendation engine to ask users a few simple questions and then synthesise the full universe of funds down to three to five best-fit options. This is an MVP build from scratch. I’m looking for a developer (or small team) who can take this from concept to a working, launch-ready web app. What I need built: • A responsive web application (mobile app is out of scope for now, but the build should be mobile-friendly) • A fund database and comparison engine covering TFSAs, RAs, and pension funds across SA providers • A data ingestion approach for aggregating fund data (scraping, APIs, manual import, or a hybrid). I currently have data for only a handful of funds, so sourcing and structuring the wider dataset is part of the job. • An AI-powered recommendation engine that takes user inputs (a short questionnaire) and returns a shortlist of best-fit funds with clear reasoning • A clean, trustworthy front end suitable for a financial product • Admin tooling so I can update funds and manage data over time Ideal skills and experience: • Full-stack web development (React or similar front end, modern back end) • Experience integrating LLMs or building AI recommendation features • Data scraping, aggregation, and database design • Bonus: prior FinTech, insurance comparison, or financial services experience Budget and timeline: I’m working to a sensible budget and am happy with a longer timeline to manage cost. I’d rather build this properly in phases than rush it. Please propose a phased approach with rough costings if you can. In your proposal, please include: • Relevant examples of comparison platforms, FinTech tools, or AI-driven apps you’ve built • Your suggested tech stack and a high-level approach to the data aggregation challenge • A rough phased plan with estimated effort and cost • Any questions you have about the concept