ChinonsoGRACE OKOLIE

PRODUCT THINKING · HUMAN UNDERSTANDING · AI

People at heart.
Products with
purpose.

Hello, I'm Chinonso Grace Okolie.

I’m a Technical Product Management student, Mass Communicator, AI builder, and AI Product Engineer Intern at HNG Tech. I bring curiosity about people to the work of researching, designing, and building digital experiences.

Explore my projects ↗Let’s connect →
TECHNICAL PRODUCT MANAGEMENTAI-ASSISTED BUILDINGCOMMUNICATION & RESEARCH

01 / ABOUT ME

People first.
Possibilities next.

My interests live at the intersection of people, business, technology, and innovation.

With a background in Mass Communication and experience running Gracie's Delight Delicacies, I bring an appreciation for listening, clear communication, creativity, and customer relationships to my developing career in technology.

I independently chose to explore technology because I wanted to grow, challenge myself, and build a different future. A software engineer friend later suggested Product Management, helping me discover a direction that connected my interests.

Today, I'm studying Technical Product Management at AltSchool Africa, exploring AI at NextGen Academy, and gaining hands-on experience through the HNG Tech AI Product Engineering Internship.

Read the story behind my transition →

I wanted to return to school and explore something different from Mass Communication. I considered cybersecurity and software development, then became interested in Project Management because of its relevance to my business.

Product Management introduced a new possibility: understanding users, defining problems, and contributing to digital solutions. My journey has involved reconsidering options and learning along the way. Personal growth, financial independence, and meaningful opportunities continue to motivate me.

MY APPROACH

Start with a person.
Then ask a better question.

01Who are we building for?

02What are they trying to accomplish?

03Why does this problem matter?

I’m learning to apply research, product discovery, prototyping, and testing to real needs. My interests include educational technology, accessible digital experiences, and responsible AI-powered products.

02 / SELECTED WORK

From a question
to something tangible.

Academic explorations, individual HNG tasks, and collaborative contributions. Here’s what I’ve been building and what it’s teaching me.

Showing 5 projects

01 / ACADEMIC PRODUCT CASE STUDYAltSchool
Hub.

A clearer, more supportive learning experience.

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT / USER RESEARCH / UX DESIGN

AltSchool Hub

I built AltSchool Hub, a learner-focused Learning Management System prototype inspired by my own experience using online learning platforms.

Associated with AltSchool Africa.

My role: product research, problem definition, journey mapping, feature planning, UX design, prototyping, user testing, and iteration.

View live prototype ↗
Read the case study →

The goal

Make learning feel less overwhelming by helping learners clearly see what to do next, continue lessons, catch up after missed classes, find assessments and live classes, track their progress, and access support when needed.

The prototype

The LMS includes a personalised learner dashboard, onboarding, progress tracking, assignments, class recordings and learning resources, role-based navigation, and an AI learning coach.

An analytics dashboard supports monitoring learner activation, engagement, retention, and enrolment performance.

User testing and iteration

I tested the prototype with users and used their feedback to improve mobile responsiveness, navigation clarity, onboarding, accessibility, theme choice, and the overall first-time learner experience.

A more welcoming first experience

I refined the entry flow with a welcoming registration screen, student details, a personalised setup journey, and a mobile-friendly experience. The original learning dashboard and support features remained intact, while learners gained the choice of light or dark mode.

02 / HNG INDIVIDUAL TASK 1Little
List.

From a first task to a deployed, full-stack app.

REACT / PYTHON / FASTAPI / SQLITE & TURSO

Little List

A task-management app with private accounts, tasks and notes, due dates, priorities, search, filters, reordering, and recoverable deletion.

Live app ↗GitHub ↗
What I built & learned →

I expanded a simple task list into a deployed application with task editing, notes, due dates, priorities, search, filtering, reordering, and undo/restore. Sign-in gives each account its own tasks, with Turso/libSQL providing persistent storage for the hosted app.

The project strengthened my understanding of frontend/backend communication, APIs, authentication, database decisions, and deployment. Browser voice controls were also added; microphone and playback behaviour remain device-dependent.

03 / HNG INDIVIDUAL TASK 2Gracie’s
Delight.

Turning business rules into a digital customer journey.

TYPESCRIPT / REACT / SUPABASE / GOOGLE OAUTH / MAILGUN

Gracie’s Delight Delicacies — Web

A published e-commerce learning build inspired by my food business, with a product catalogue, size and pack selection, Bag, Google sign-in, checkout, and order history.

Visit website ↗GitHub ↗
From business idea to working demo →

I planned the customer journey and product requirements, then built product browsing, size and pack selection, Bag, Google sign-in, checkout, and orders backed by Supabase. I also refined category navigation and catalogue presentation.

Database checkout, Google sign-in, simulated payments, and Mailgun email to a verified sandbox inbox were tested. Real payments and general customer email delivery remain future business-launch work.

04 / HNG INDIVIDUAL TASK 3Delight,
on mobile.

One business experience, across web and Android.

REACT NATIVE / EXPO / TYPESCRIPT / SHARED APIS

Gracie’s Delight Delicacies — Mobile

A companion Android shopping app with catalogue browsing, product options, Bag, checkout, order screens, and Google sign-in integration using the website’s shared backend.

Explore the mobile project →

I built a companion Android shopping experience using React Native, Expo, and TypeScript, connected to the website’s shared APIs. I refined product grouping and size selection, investigated sign-in and Bag issues, and produced an Android test build.

The project is still being improved; final cross-device Bag synchronisation and end-to-end device checks remain in progress.

Explore my HNG experience ↓
05 / HNG TECH · TEAM NEO / TRINITYSmall fixes.
Shared progress.

Contributing across web, mobile, and desktop.

ISSUE INVESTIGATION / IMPLEMENTATION / REVIEW

Zedu platform contributions

Scoped bug fixes, interface improvements, technical documentation, and product communication within a collaborative learning platform.

My notification-badge fix is merged into the Trinity squad branch. An earlier contributors-page wording improvement is also merged.

Merged squad PR ↗My HNG experience ↓

HNG TECH / AI PRODUCT ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

Learning by building.
Growing through teamwork.

AI Product Engineer Intern
HNG Tech
Team Neo · Squad Trinity

I turn product requirements into working web and mobile experiences, using AI-assisted development alongside testing, debugging, and collaboration.

My internship connects hands-on engineering with my interest in product management: understanding the user journey, making practical technical decisions, and improving the experience through feedback.

01 / FULL-STACK DEVELOPMENT

Little List

Built and deployed a React and FastAPI task-management app with private accounts, notes, priorities, deadlines, and persistent cloud storage.

Explore the live app ↗
02 / WEB & ANDROID DEVELOPMENT

Gracie’s Delight Delicacies

Translated my business idea into a shopping website and companion Android app. Worked on product options, Google sign-in, database-backed checkout, and shared APIs. The web demo is published; mobile improvements are ongoing.

View the web project ↗
03 / TEAM CONTRIBUTIONS

Zedu

Investigated and fixed notification-badge behaviour, with the final change merged into the Trinity squad branch. An earlier contributors-page wording improvement was also merged.

Notification fix ↗Contributors-page PR ↗

Alongside the engineering work, I published a practical guide to supporting learners with Zedu Buzz. Read the guide ↗

03 / EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

A foundation
that keeps growing.

ONGOING / PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

HNG Tech · AI Product Engineer Intern

Individual full-stack and Android builds, product documentation, testing, and collaborative Zedu contributions with Team Neo / Squad Trinity. Explore my internship work →

BARAKA 2026 / CURRENT STUDY

AltSchool Africa

Product Management / Technical Product Management. Building technical understanding alongside discovery, strategy, research, and product thinking.

COHORT 2 / ONGOING LEARNING

NextGen Academy

AI Powered Builders Program. Exploring AI-assisted building, research, automation, and practical problem-solving.

ACADEMIC FOUNDATION

Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH)

Ordinary National Diploma (OND), Mass Communication. A foundation in audiences, communication, and human connection.

04 / DEVELOPING MY TOOLKIT

Human skills.
Technical curiosity.

These are areas of learning and practical exposure, rather than claims of expert-level proficiency.

Product thinking

Discovery · User and market research · Problem definition · Personas · User journeys · Requirements · User stories · Prototyping · Usability testing · Iteration

Technical development

Frontend and backend concepts · API integration · Databases · GitHub collaboration · Issue tracking · Pull requests · Technical documentation · Web and mobile development exposure

AI-assisted workflows

Prompt development · AI-powered prototyping · Product research applications · Exploring tools and automation · Responsible AI use

Communication & collaboration

Active listening · Research interviewing · Written and verbal communication · Teamwork · Critical thinking · Creativity · Adaptability · Customer relationships

Tools encountered in my learning and projects

Figma / Figma Make / GitHub / VS Code / Notion / Gamma / ChatGPT Sites / React / Python / FastAPI / SQLite

05 / BEYOND TECHNOLOGY

A person.
Not just a portfolio.

I’m an entrepreneur who enjoys learning, creating, and connecting with people.

I love cooking, baking, singing, dancing, and reading. Meaningful conversations and understanding different perspectives matter to me.

Balancing education, entrepreneurship, and professional development has helped me appreciate patience, adaptability, and consistency.

Gracie's Delight Delicacies

As a founder and business owner, I've gained experience in cooking, baking, customer relationships, planning, and creating enjoyable food experiences. That entrepreneurial perspective complements my product thinking and inspired my HNG e-commerce projects.

My goal is to become a skilled Technical Product Manager who combines user understanding with technical knowledge and works effectively with engineers, designers, researchers, and business stakeholders.

06 / LET'S CONNECT

Good conversations
can lead to great possibilities.

I'm open to work. I’m interested in product management, technical product management, and AI product development roles, including internships and entry-level opportunities. I also welcome freelance projects, research collaborations, mentorship, and professional connections.

Say hello by email ↗LinkedIn ↗GitHub ↗

chinonso.g.okolie@gmail.com