ExportAlert

Real-time Cotonou port alerts and clearance tracker for cashew exporters

Score: 7.1/10BJEasy BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Beninese agritech exporters suffer severe congestion at Cotonou port, delaying cashew and cotton exports and inflating shipping costs.

Solution

ExportAlert scrapes local port APIs and agent reports for live congestion status. Sends instant alerts on queue changes and predicts clearance times. Helps exporters time arrivals perfectly, minimizing demurrage fees.

Target Audience

Beninese agritech exporters shipping cashew and cotton produce

Differentiator

Hyper-local Benin agent network for ground-truth data beyond public trackers

Brand Voice

friendly

Features

Live Port Status

must-have20h

Real-time queue and berth availability

Custom Alerts

must-have15h

Push/email on status changes matching your shipment

Clearance Timeline

must-have18h

ETA for customs/port exit

Shipment Tracker

must-have12h

Log and track individual shipments

Heatmap View

must-have15h

Visual congestion trends

Daily Digest

nice-to-have8h

Morning email summary

WhatsApp Integration

nice-to-have12h

Alerts via WA for Benin users

Data Export

nice-to-have10h

CSV of your tracking history

Total Build Time: 110 hours

Database Schema

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
emailtextNo
phonetextYes

shipments

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
user_iduuidNo
dock_numbertextYes
arrival_timetimestampNo

Relationships:

  • user_id references users(id)

port_status

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
timestamptimestampNo
queue_lengthintNo
berths_freeintNo

alerts

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
shipment_iduuidNo
triggered_attimestampNo
status_changetextNo

Relationships:

  • shipment_id references shipments(id)

API Endpoints

GET
/api/status

Latest port status

POST
/api/alerts

Set up alert

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/shipments

Add shipment

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/tracker

Shipment updates

🔒 Auth Required

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 + Tailwind + shadcn/ui
Backend
Next.js API routes
Database
Supabase Postgres
Auth
Supabase Auth
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
Cron for port scrapesTwilio for SMSSupabase Realtime

Build Timeline

Week 1: Data pipeline

25h
  • Port scrape cron
  • Status API

Week 2: Auth and shipments

25h
  • User/shipment models
  • Tracker UI

Week 3: Alerts system

30h
  • Realtime alerts
  • Heatmap

Week 4: Integrations

25h
  • Email/SMS
  • Landing

Week 5: Polish and deploy

20h
  • Payments
  • Deploy
Total Timeline: 5 weeks • 125 hours

Pricing Tiers

Free

$0/mo

No history

  • Live status
  • 2 alerts/mo

Pro

$35/mo
  • Unlimited alerts
  • Trackers
  • Digest

Enterprise

$99/mo
  • All Pro
  • WA alerts
  • Custom scrapes

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 12010%$70$840
Month 612020%$840$10,080

Unit Economics

$70
CAC
$420
LTV
4%
Churn
93%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 6.0xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Never Miss a Cotonou Port Window Again

Feature Highlights

Real-time port queues
Smart shipment ETAs
Instant notifications
Visual heatmaps

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"Alerts saved our shipment! – Benin Cotton"
"Reliable daily updates"

First Three Customers

Email list from Benin export directories; offer free Pro for 2 weeks to first 10 responders; showcase live demo in exporter meetups.

Launch Channels

Product Huntr/indiehackersTwitter #AgriTechAfricaLinkedIn

SEO Keywords

Cotonou port live trackerBenin export clearance alertscashew shipment status

Competitive Analysis

PortCongestion.app

portcongestion.app
$49/mo
Strength

Global coverage

Weakness

Generic, no Benin focus or alerts

Our Advantage

Local data + proactive alerts

🏰 Moat Strategy

Exclusive agent-sourced data creates accuracy moat

⏰ Why Now?

Port upgrades delayed, exports booming post-2023 reforms

Risks & Mitigation

technicalmedium severity

Data scraping blocks

Mitigation

Multi-source + partnerships

financiallow severity

SMS costs

Mitigation

Tier limits

marketmedium severity

Competition from agents

Mitigation

Digital ease

Validation Roadmap

pre-build4 days

Validate alert demand via Typeform

Success: 70% interest

mvp7 days

Manual alerts to 5 users

Success: Daily opens 90%

launch5 days

Waitlist conversion

Success: 30% signup

Pivot Options

  • General customs tracker
  • African port network

Quick Stats

Build Time
125h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$900
Market Size
$4.0M
Features
8
Database Tables
4
API Endpoints
4