Southern African Cardano Community (SACC): events, content and a hackathon in 4 Southern African countries

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Jessemusse Cacinda

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

5

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

A community and content channel to promote awareness of the Cardano ecosystem and a physical event in Maputo with stakeholders and Cardano Ambassadors.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

All materials will be open source and accessible on the internet via the project’s website and social media channels - especially the whatsapp group that will host the community members.

Training materials created will be available for download in the project’s official website. 

All materials will be made available for free for syndication to other media and organisations via the project website. 

[METADATA] SDG rating

Goal 4: Quality education

Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Goal 10: Reduced inequalities

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Activities

• Cardano hackathon hosted in Maputo, in partnership with local civil society organisations, universities, government agencies, private sector. 
• A 3-part video series on the Cardano ‘ecosystem’ and blockchain for African listeners and viewers in the SADC region. In three languages (Portuguese, French, English and/or Swahili). These will be a series of introduction videos to the Cardano blockchain, its benefits and relevance to local stakeholders (government, private sector, citizens etc)
• Start Southern African Blockchain Lab: a digital community with members in up to 19 SADC countries, fostering cross-pollination between communities. Initial member focus: Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, Tanzania. Create and manage social media channels and website 
• A FREE course in Portuguese introducing how to develop with Layer 1 Cardano Blockchain 
• X3 Newsletters
• Printed brochures: for dissemination of information in schools, universities and public events
• The project will raise awareness on the importance, benefits and threats associated with the used of digital blockchain technology in different themes or working groups, namely:
• Finance (eg. crowdfunding, DeFi-decentralised finance, ReFi-regenerative finance)
• Creative Economies (eg. NFTs)
• Humanitarian assistance (eg. donations, cash transfer to displaced population and coordination among humanitarian clusters)
• Public administration (eg. health, education, social protection, voting, tax collection, payroll, urban planning)
• Environment (eg. wildlife preservation, waste management, circular economy) 

• We will also involve stakeholders through a physical event in Maputo to assess the current policy landscape including existing policies, challenges and opportunities.

Key stakeholders who we have relationships with:

1. Associação Moçambicana de Fintechs
2. AMB - Mozambican Bank Association
3. FSD Moç
4. Banco de Moçambique / Banco de Moçambique Fintech Sandbox
5. FEMICC - Federation of Culture and Creative Industries in Mozambique
6. OCHA /UN Habitat/ UNHCR
7. Netherlands embassy
8. European Union
9. FCDO
10. Swedish Embassy
11. AFD
12. INTIC - Instituto nacional de tecnologias de informação
13. ADE - Agência Nacional de Desenvolvimento Espacial 
14. AMER - Associacao Mocambicana de Energias Renovaveis
15. AMOR - Associacao Mocambicana de Reciclagem

Tech

To produce our content, we will use:

YouTubeLive and/or video production teams 

Soundcloud (for podcasts)

Mailchimp (for newsletters)

Social media (for outreach and growth)

A standalone website (for sustainability, partnerships and growth)

Medium (for big ideas)

A venue in Maputo, Mozambique

We will build a following through events on social media, as well as live events at cultural centres in Maputo, capital of Mozambique. 

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

• Regional expansion in underserved markets. 
• Multilingual approach helps to build a community across borders in Southern Africa
• Helps to build a footprint in underserved regional communities
• New info portal to expand Cardano footprint in languages relevant to this African region
• New digital community of hundreds, eventually thousands, united across SADC region to create new content and promote Cardano ecosystem innovation 
• Physical event brings together local stakeholders to learn about Cardano as a solution
• Emphasis on underdeveloped region supports impact
• Opportunity for Cardano startups to meet local stakeholders at physical event 
• New wallet, DEX, DeFI users (= new transactions) as a whole new regions discovers Cardano
• Ethale Publishing and Conta Comigo relationships with local media outlets will see good press and PR for Cardano
• The project will open the door to Cardano startups and foundations to develop relationships with Mozambican and SADC government and private sector and NGO potential clients. Opens up a new market to Cardano ecosystem

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

• 10 years experience of producing multilingual Africa-focused content at Ethale Publishing
• Project manager has over 5 years of experience leading workshops on stakeholder engagement from private sector to NGOs, financial literacy and SME development 
• All proponents have strong public identities, press contacts, extensive networks in business, government and the arts in Mozambique
• Ability and experience sourcing talent to create cross-border multilingual content 
• Strong team and/or contacts in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Botswana
• Networks throughout the region
• A decade of experience delivering projects with excellence (see references)
• Experience producing digital events in the region 
• Extensive networks on the ground and online
• Evidence of past successful training and workshop content with international partners such as Moleskine etc

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

It is a 5 month project. Total milestones: 3.

Milestone 1: 

Delivery: 2 months 

Outline of x3 episodes 

Outline of workshops 

Produce and broadcast pilot and teaser show 

Plan of event 

Acceptance of Milestone: 

Detailed report and outline of the show production schedule and content 

Finished production of pilot / teaser show. Broadcast pilot

Report on planned event 

Delivery: 2 months

Produce and broadcast 2 more shows

Build standalone project website

Plan and outline founding of the Lab, with founding members guidelines and membership guidelines 

Event with participation of at least 35 stakeholders interested in distributed ledger technology and Cardano 

Event includes Hackathon with AT LEAST x10 participants (target: 25-30)

Acceptance of Milestone: 

Produced and broadcasted 2 shows

Standalone project website

Draft plan of Lab founding principles and organisational structure

Report: Photos, social media, video evidence of physical event

Post-event report 

Hackathon report

Delivery: 1 month

Setup governance structure, write charter 

Recruit initial members for Lab

Final report on project, content

Research and write sustainability Report

Acceptance of Milestone:

Governance structure and charter for Lab

Evidence of 100 initial followers/members recruited 

Final report on project, content

Sustainability Report

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Jessemusse Cacinda: Project Management, Editorial, Strategy, Event Production.

Jessemusse Cacinda is a Mozambican award-winning investigative journalist and project manager. He has worked for CAICC, Sekelekani, USAID and as a consultant for a dozen local and international organisations in Mozambique. He is the co-founder of the managing director of Ethale Publishing Lda, a Mozambican-based publisher and provider of editorial services and events.

Melio Tinga: Design/Editorial, Social media.

Melio Tinga is an award-winning Mozambican author and designer. He is the winner of the 2021 Blog4Dev competition (World Bank), as well the prestigious Eugenio Lisboa literary prize. He has previous experience working with blockchain, having developed wireframes for early stage projects on Algorand. 

Lisandro Jordao. Event Production. Project Consultant.

Lisandro Jordão is a financial analyst, economist, business coach and entrepreneur. He holds a masters degree in Economics, earned in the United Kingdom and more than five years combined work experience in the banking and Oil & Gas sectors earned in Mozambique. He is also a certified business coach for SMEs. Lisandro is the founder of the financial empowerment initiative CONTA COMIGO and strongly

believes that financial education is one of the major keys to eradicate the extreme poverty and levels faced in Africa. He is highly supportive of women empowerment as he believes that women’s potential, once harnessed, can fasten the pace of development of African families, communities and nations in ways never imagined before

Antonio Junior Nhatave, Project Management Support, Administration 

Antonio has worked in project management and leadership for the last five years. He is the current MD of Ethale Publishing. 

Elias Manhicana, CTO

Elias is a full stack developer. He is the current CTO at Ethale Publishing.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

TOTAL: ADA 84,500

Milestone 1: ADA30,500

Team and Contractor Salaries: 12,000 ADA

Content Design and Production: 7,500 ADA

Digital community design and outreach: 3,000 ADA

Multilingualism: 8,000 ADA

Milestone 2: ADA40,000

Team and Contractor Salaries: 12,000 ADA

Physical event production (inc bringing Cardano startups from abroad) : 12,500 ADA

Content Production: 7,500 ADA

Training Material Production and Workshop Implementation : 4,000 ADA

Admin, legal: 4,000 ADA

Final Milestone: 14,000 ADA

Team and Contractor Salaries: 5,000 ADA

Content Production: 4,000 ADA

Community development costs: 5,000 ADA

*We are basing our budget on an estimate of ADA at $0.4

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

• I and my partners have a proven history of developing digital communities. 
• We can guarantee large listenership/viewership. We also have many contacts in the SADC region so the consortium will have many members.  
• The multilingual content will be reusable in other African territories, as well as worldwide 
• Ethale Publishing will co-finance the physical event 
• The project will seek alternative funding with a view to developing a sustainable business model 
• People will be able to learn about the Cardano ecosystem in their own language all over East and Southern African territories. We estimate that our shows will reach at least 5,000 people on social media, YouTube, mailchimp and traditional media. Many of these will be new to Cardano: they will become users/developers/promoters.  
• Cardano startups and ambassadors gain cheap access to new market via physical and digital events with interested and select local stakeholders