Finding a reliable resource for key South African economic stats can be challenging. To solve this issue, developerKarl-Alexander Meier Mattern has launched an intuitive and innovative web-based dashboard that consolidates interest rates, inflation and exchange rates into a single view - eliminating the need to navigate various sections of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) website.
TheSouth Africa micro dashboard centralises critical economic data on one platform, saving analysts, journalists and the public, promoting informed decision-making without official government support or complex bureaucracy.
“Right now, navigating the SARB website to find information like interest rates, inflation, and exchange rates requires jumping between multiple sections, which isn’t always intuitive. I built this dashboard to simplify that experience — to make important data easier to find, understand, and use. Based on user feedback, I’ve found that many people felt the same frustration and really appreciated having a cleaner, consolidated view,” says Mattern.
Mattern credits modern toolchain Vite - particularly Vite integrated with Vercel - for a smooth development experience.
He says, “It’s made development faster and more enjoyable. I also appreciate how Vite plays nicely with modern tooling like Tailwind, and how easy it is to configure builds and routes without overhead.”
User feedback has played a vital role in shaping the dashboard’s roadmap. Mattern is working on time-series visualisations that will allow users to track trends over time—a feature suggested by several LinkedIn users. On the technical side, a fellow developer recommended adding a Cloudflare caching layer to reduce server load, which Mattern plans to implement to improve performance and scalability.
“Most feedback has come through LinkedIn where I shared the project. I’ve had several users reach out with suggestions and ideas. The biggest lesson is to build things you personally want to use and not wait for them to be perfect before shipping. If it solves a real problem for you, chances are it’ll help others too,” he explains.
By addressing user needs with lean, modern technology and an open feedback loop, Mattern demonstrates how small, focused tools can deliver outsized public value—turning a personal frustration into a resource that benefits an entire nation.
Lungile is the Digital Editor for TechAfrica, with a knack for storytelling, technology and innovative ideas. Working with TechAfrica, she takes simple ideas and turns them into amazing stories.
