The portfolio catch-22 is the most common reason aspiring designers stall out. Waiting for client projects before building a portfolio is backwards — the portfolio is what gets you the clients.
Three approaches that reliably work:
Redesign case studies. Pick an app you use daily that has obvious friction points. Document the current state, run a round of five-second tests with friends, identify the top three pain points, then redesign those screens. Write up your process. This demonstrates exactly what employers want: structured thinking and iteration.
Volunteer work. NGOs, local businesses, and community organisations desperately need design help. You get real constraints (real users, real budgets, real stakeholders). They get a better product. You get a portfolio piece with measurable outcomes.
Spec work on African products. This is underused in the continent's design community. Building a concept for a Kenyan fintech or a Lagos e-commerce app signals local context fluency — a genuine differentiator when applying to regional companies.