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Gift Bambi Nzuzi
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Sababalar (Saba Ba Lar)

CCL’s online lottery — playable over USSD and on the web.

Role
Built for a client
Stage
Launched
Client
Compagnie Congolaise des Loisirs (CCL)
Since
2022
Domains
FintechClient work

Saba Ba Lar (“Saturday money”) is the Compagnie Congolaise des Loisirs lottery, launched in December 2023: stakes from 1,000 FC via *423# on every network or on sababalar.com, e-wallet payment, and a Saturday draw broadcast live on RTNC. Between 2022 and 2023, at CCL, Gift Bambi Nzuzi worked on the platform’s first version alongside Skilrock, an Indian lottery-technology company.

The problem

Make a national game accessible to everyone, including people without a smartphone or data.

The solution

A USSD flow (*423#) alongside a website, connected to mobile payment and live draws.

My contribution

At CCL (2022–2023): built the first version, as part of a team with Skilrock.

Simplified architecture

  1. 01

    USSD *423# · Web

    All networks, sababalar.com

  2. 02

    Lottery platform

    Tickets, draws, winnings

  3. 03

    Payments

    E-wallets

  4. 04

    Live draw

    Broadcast on RTNC on Saturdays

Related work

Gift in brief

Gift Bambi Nzuzi

A Congolese senior software engineer and technology entrepreneur, creator of SimplyPaye and co-creator of WhatsPay, Gift Bambi Nzuzi builds payment systems and digital platforms that bring people, businesses and services closer together.

Who he is

A senior developer trained in computer engineering at the University of Kinshasa, an entrepreneur and a mentor. Co-founder of BIG SAS and OMNIA, CTO of DigiLife.

What he does

He designs payment and Mobile Money infrastructure, developer SDKs, mobile and web apps, lottery platforms and management software — for his own products and for clients in the DRC, Mozambique and North America.

His strengths

  • Software architecture and payment APIs
  • Mobile Money integration (Orange Money, Airtel Money, M-Pesa)
  • Products shipped end to end, from server to App Store
  • Teaching: he trains and mentors young developers
  • A public voice on AI and deepfakes, on RTNC

His story

He was coding well before his first production releases in 2018. He founded ECODEV to train young people, became a Tech Challenge finalist at UNIKIN’s Journées Informatiques with HORUS, wrote his thesis on a payment gateway, worked on CCL’s Sababalar lottery, created SimplyPaye in 2022 and co-founded WhatsPay, now a StarTimes partner in the DRC.