Personal Project · Web + Mobile
Monnaie Tchad
In Chad, when people talk about money in Arabic, every price gets divided by 5. This tool takes an FCFA amount and gives you the spoken equivalent so you can make yourself understood at the market.
Want the full story? Read my deep dive into the history and logic behind this system: The Chadian Currency: A Cultural Algorithm.
The Logic
You enter
1000 FCFA
÷ 5
You get
200 (Miten)
When talking about money in Chadian Arabic, you divide the FCFA amount by 5. It's been done this way for generations, and most people don't even think about it. But if you're not used to it, this tool saves you from doing the mental math on the spot.
Why I built this
I grew up in Chad and understand how the system works, but I still catch myself doing the mental math wrong sometimes. My brain defaults to French for numbers, where this divide-by-5 rule doesn't apply.
I built this for myself and a few friends who deal with the same thing, but it turns out a lot of other people needed it too. Since launch, there have been tens of users daily, both locals and visitors.
Platforms
Web (SvelteKit)
Built for speed. Loads instantly even on slower 3G connections common in the region. Server-side rendered, zero layout shift, works as a Progressive Web App.
Mobile (Flutter)
Single codebase for iOS and Android. Works completely offline, which matters when you're at the market and don't have a stable connection. Custom Arabic typography support.