Description
In Mozambique, finding fuel can mean driving from station to station with no idea whether there's petrol, diesel, or a two-hour queue. Abastece solves that with crowdsourced information: drivers themselves report, in real time, which stations have fuel, at what price and with what wait. I built the entire backend, the API and the database behind the platform the central challenge was building a system that accepts data from anyone, requires no registration, and can still tell reliable information from false reports.
My Role and Contributions
Backend Architecture: Designed and built the entire server layer powering the Android app, the iOS app and the web version from a single source of data.
PostgreSQL Database: Modelled and implemented the geospatial database in PostgreSQL, with indexing optimised for proximity queries and aggregation by province, brand and fuel availability.
Public API Without Authentication: Built an API that works with no account and no password a product decision that removes the entry barrier, but which required abuse protection to be engineered differently.
Reputation-Based Anti-Fraud System: Implemented a per-device reputation mechanism that scores each contributor's reliability, detects patterns of false reporting and blocks abusive submissions without ever requiring user identification.
Real-Time State Engine: Built the aggregation logic that turns individual and sometimes contradictory reports into a single coherent status per station, with time-based decay of confidence in older reports.
Key Features
Real-Time Map: Colour-coded pins showing each station's status has fuel, out of fuel, or queueing updated from community reports.
Fuel Type Filter: Separate search for petrol and diesel, so drivers see only the stations relevant to their vehicle.
Queue and Price Reporting: Wait times and price per litre logged per station, enabling comparison and an informed decision before leaving home.
No Registration Required: Fully usable in under ten seconds no account, no password, no personal data collection.
Integrated Navigation: One-tap routing to the chosen station via Google Maps.
Community Feed: A continuously updated stream of reports shared by drivers across the country.
Brand and Hours Filter: Search by fuel operator and identification of 24-hour stations.
Technologies Used
Backend: Laravel with a RESTful API, asynchronous report processing and scheduled tasks for periodic recalculation of station status.
Database: PostgreSQL with geospatial extensions, proximity indexing and queries optimised for real-time aggregation across the entire national territory.
Cross-Platform API: A single API serving the Android app, the iOS app and the web version simultaneously, guaranteeing data consistency across all three channels.
Abuse Prevention: Device-identifier reputation system with rate limiting and detection of anomalous submission patterns.
Infrastructure: Cloud hosting with automated deployment, uptime monitoring and database backup routines.
Results and Impact
National Coverage: Fuel stations mapped across all 11 provinces of Mozambique, from north to south.
Published on Both Stores: App approved and live on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Stations Mapped: +170 stations in the database, of which +30 are open 24 hours.
Downloads: +500 installs across Android and iOS.
Practical Impact: Fewer aimless trips means less wasted fuel, less time lost in queues and lower emissions a direct environmental benefit flowing from a product decision.
