The KD Barakah Build-Off
The KD Barakah Build-Off
A 6-week, fully remote product-building competition organised by Karim Dev.
📅 Start date: 4 November 2026
🏁 Final deadline: 16 December 2026
💻 Format: Fully remote
👥 Team size: Solo or teams of up to 5
The Challenge
What if managing charitable giving through your earnings could become simpler, more transparent and easier to track?
For this edition of the KD Barakah Build-Off, participants will explore a real-world product challenge inspired by Imran's vision for a payroll and charitable-giving platform.
The concept explores how technology could connect payroll, financial visibility and charitable giving, helping users understand their contributions, track their progress and make more informed decisions about giving.
Your task will be to explore the problem, develop potential solutions, and build a product or prototype that addresses the needs of its intended users.
The final challenge brief is currently being developed. Further details, including the core objectives, requirements and project boundaries, will be shared with participants ahead of the build period.
What Could You Build?
Potential areas of exploration may include:
Dashboard and financial overview: Help users understand their contributions and giving activity over time.
Giving tracker: Allow users to monitor donations, targets and contribution history.
Charity discovery: Present charitable organisations and communicate the potential impact of different donation amounts.
Giving automation: Explore ways users could plan and schedule recurring charitable contributions.
Visualisations and calculators: Make financial information and giving progress easier to understand.
Payroll-related features: Explore how payroll information could fit into the user experience, subject to technical feasibility and applicable requirements.
Employer dashboard: Consider how employers could view relevant engagement and giving information while respecting user privacy.
These are illustrative ideas, not confirmed requirements. The final brief will clarify which objectives and features are essential and where participants have freedom to innovate.
Your Mission
During the six-week build period, you will:
Understand the problem and the needs of its users.
Explore ideas and develop a potential solution.
Design and build a product or working prototype.
Collaborate, test your ideas and refine your solution.
Present your work to Imran at the end of the competition.
You can participate individually or in a team of up to five. Team arrangements may be adjusted depending on the number of registered participants.
Build Around a Vision, Not Just a Brief
Imran has an existing vision for the project, but participants will have room to propose creative approaches and improvements within the agreed challenge requirements.
We're interested in seeing different interpretations of the problem, from thoughtful user experiences to practical prototypes and innovative product ideas.
The goal is to build something that addresses the challenge while remaining aligned with the project's overall direction.
What Will You Gain?
Practical experience taking a product idea from concept to prototype.
A project you may be able to showcase in your portfolio, CV or GitHub, subject to the agreed confidentiality and intellectual-property terms.
Experience collaborating with other builders and presenting your work.
The opportunity to receive feedback from the person behind the case study.
The possibility of having promising ideas explored further after the competition, although this is not guaranteed.
Important Information
Prize: This first Build-Off does not currently have a guaranteed monetary or physical prize. The focus is on learning, collaboration, practical experience and building something meaningful.
Confidentiality and NDA: Participants must review and sign the required Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to participate and access confidential project information. The NDA will be provided separately. If you decide not to sign it after reviewing its terms, you will need to withdraw from the competition.
Privacy and data: Participants should use sample, mock or appropriately anonymised data. Sensitive payroll information will not be provided as part of the challenge.
Technical feasibility: Any real payroll integration, financial automation or handling of sensitive personal information will depend on technical feasibility, permissions and applicable legal or regulatory requirements.
Intellectual property: Ownership and permitted use of participants' work will be clarified in the applicable terms before building begins. Participants should review these terms before committing to the challenge.
Ready to Build?
Six weeks. A real-world challenge. Different minds working towards better solutions.
Join the KD Barakah Build-Off, collaborate with fellow builders and turn an idea into something tangible.
Build period begins 4 November 2026.
Register here: https://luma.com/1xostmwe