EmpowerAI

AI-powered career platform for South African youth

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EmpowerAI uses a Digital Economic Twin, CV analysis, interview coaching, and real-time opportunity matching to help young South Africans find work and build careers - in their own languages, from wherever they are.

🧪 Public Beta: EmpowaAI is in open beta. If you're testing, please read the Beta Tester Guide - it explains what to expect (e.g. sign-up has no email-verification step during beta) and how to report issues.

Features

Feature	Description
Digital Economic Twin	AI model of your career potential - income projections, skill gaps, growth paths
CV Analyser	ATS score, keyword gaps, readiness level, and actionable improvements
CV Revamp	AI rewrites your CV to pass ATS filters
Opportunity Matching	Learnerships, internships, bursaries, and jobs matched to your skills and province
Interview Coach	Practice sessions with real-time AI feedback (tech, behavioural, non-tech)
AI Mentor	24/7 career guidance in 11 South African languages

Architecture

EmpowerAI/
├── frontend/              React 18 + TypeScript + Vite    → Vercel
├── empowerai-backend/     Node.js 20 + Express 5          → Render
└── ai-service/            Python 3.11 + FastAPI           → Render

Infrastructure:

Layer	Technology
Database + Auth	Supabase (PostgreSQL + Supabase Auth)
Storage	Supabase Storage
Payments	Paystack
Email	Brevo
Job data	Adzuna API + RSS feeds

Getting started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• Python 3.11+
• A Supabase project (free tier works for local dev)

1. Clone and set up the database

git clone https://github.com/EmpowaAI/EmpowerAI.git
cd EmpowerAI

Open your Supabase project → SQL Editor and run empowerai-backend/schema.sql, then run each file in empowerai-backend/migrations/ (in filename order) to create the interview_sessions and saved_opportunities tables and apply the security/consent updates.
Note your Project URL and service role key from Settings → API.

2. Option A - Docker (recommended)

The fastest way to run all three services together:

# Copy and fill in all three env files (Supabase keys, AI provider key, encryption key)
cp empowerai-backend/.env.example empowerai-backend/.env
cp ai-service/.env.example ai-service/.env
cp frontend/.env.example frontend/.env.local

# Start everything
docker compose up --build

Service	URL
Frontend	http://localhost:5173
Backend API	http://localhost:5000/api
AI Service	http://localhost:8000

To also start Redis (needed for the BullMQ async queue):

docker compose --profile redis up --build

Option B - Manual setup

Backend

cd empowerai-backend
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env: set SUPABASE_URL, SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY, DATA_ENCRYPTION_KEY
npm install
npm run dev

Generate DATA_ENCRYPTION_KEY:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

AI Service

cd ai-service
python -m venv venv && source venv/Scripts/activate  # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp .env.example .env  # set AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY and AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

Frontend

cd frontend
cp .env.example .env.local
# Set VITE_SUPABASE_URL, VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY, VITE_API_BASE_URL
npm install
npm run dev

App starts at http://localhost:5173.

Environment variables

Backend (empowerai-backend/.env)

Variable	Required	Description
SUPABASE_URL	Yes	Supabase project URL
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY	Yes	Service-role key - never expose client-side
DATA_ENCRYPTION_KEY	Yes	64-char hex for AES-256-GCM encryption of PII
AI_SERVICE_URL	Yes	FastAPI service URL
FRONTEND_URL	Yes	Frontend URL (used in email auth redirects)
BREVO_API_KEY	Email	Transactional email delivery
PAYSTACK_SECRET_KEY	Payments	Paystack server key

See .env.example for the complete list.

Frontend (frontend/.env.local)

Variable	Required	Description
VITE_SUPABASE_URL	Yes	Same as backend SUPABASE_URL
VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY	Yes	Supabase anon key (safe for browser)
VITE_API_BASE_URL	Yes	Backend URL, e.g. http://localhost:5000/api

API reference

All protected endpoints require Authorization: Bearer <supabase-jwt>.

Method	Route	Auth	Description
POST	/api/auth/register	Public	Create account
POST	/api/auth/login	Public	Sign in, returns JWT
GET	/api/auth/validate	Token	Validate token + profile
POST	/api/account/forgot-password	Public	Send reset email
POST	/api/account/reset-password	Token	Set new password
GET	/api/twin/	Token	Get economic twin
POST	/api/twin/	Token	Create/update twin
POST	/api/twin/build-from-cv	Token	Build twin from CV
POST	/api/twin/simulate	Token	Run career simulation
POST	/api/twin/chat/message	Token	AI twin chat
POST	/api/cv/analyze-file	Token	Analyse uploaded CV
GET	/api/opportunities	Optional	Browse opportunities
POST	/api/applications	Token	Track application
POST	/api/interview/start	Token	Start mock interview
GET	/api/health	Public	Health check

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. We welcome contributors - especially developers, AI researchers, and people with lived experience of South Africa's job market.

Security

See SECURITY.md for responsible disclosure guidelines.

Roadmap

See ROADMAP.md.

Licence

MIT. See LICENSE.