Personal / Concept Project 2020 City of Airdrie Pitch
The Problem
During COVID-19, local Airdrie businesses lost foot traffic overnight while Calgary-based businesses dominated Google search results. Big corporations with SEO budgets won visibility. Local businesses with loyal communities had none of those tools — and no platform built for them.
The vision
Not SEO. Not ad spend. Proximity, fairness and smart technology.
I conceived MBI as a Progressive Web Application (PWA) that fundamentally changes how local businesses compete online — giving every licensed local business the same tools as national chains, without the cost.
"When businesses grow, so does the economy."
What made MBI different — 7 key differentiators
01
Fair indexing — not SEO
Search results based on proximity, not ad spend. Every local business gets equal visibility.
02
Chamber of Commerce verification
Registered businesses receive a verified badge — instant credibility for consumers.
03
Geofence smart marketing
Real-time automated promotions triggered by proximity. No manual campaigns. No ad budget needed.
04
Digital loyalty cards
Built-in loyalty programs giving local businesses the same retention tools as national chains.
05
Canadian data sovereignty
PIPEDA compliant. Canadian servers only. Individuals control their own data — no American third parties.
06
Hyperlocal job search
Municipality-to-municipality job matching. Keeping local talent and opportunity local.
07
Scalable municipality to municipality
Built to start in Airdrie and replicate across any Canadian municipality — same fair indexing, same smart tools, same community focus.
Logo — bold, modern, community-first
Members dashboard — business profile & booking
Flow 1 — business discovery-dashboard
Flow 2 — affiliate & membership
The research
-2.1%
Small business real output drop, Q1 2020
+110%
E-commerce growth year over year
-84%
In-person clothing retail sales drop
Data sourced from Statistics Canada & CBC News, 2020
Presented to the City of Airdrie's Website Task Force on behalf of Distinct Graphics & Software Solutions. The concept was validated at a municipal level — the city was supportive of the vision but had prior infrastructure investments already committed. The door remains open."
— Cigdem Fareed, owner & developer, MY Biz Info · 2020
