Virtual Web3/4Good Conference at Cardano Summit Dubai 2024 (with Positive Blockchain, ImpactPlus and United Nations Development Programme)

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Alex Macbeth

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

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Co-proposers and additional applicants

Maciej Bulanda (Positive Blockchain)

Gabriel von Roda (Innofund)

Teo Petricevic: UNDP IRH AltFinLab. Programme consultancy

[GENERAL] Requested funds in ada

100000

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

3

[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 conference to connect Cardano startups with aid and humanitarian agencies to develop web3 business solutions for impact.

[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 dependencies

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

No

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

N/A

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth 

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities 

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

The problem: 

• Web3 impact vertical leads don’t have a dedicated space to meet aid and development and humanitarian agencies to explore efficient business solutions that support SDGs
• Metaverse not used to reduce cost and increase efficiency for aid and development sector 
• Cardano has many impact driven companies that need access to the aid and development world to develop business and understand the needs. (Empowa.io, Landaon.io, worldmobiletoken.com, Socious.io, to name a few)  
• Web3 use cases are underexplored to solve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) challenges because the web3 community are underexposed to key agency decision-makers
• Government and non-governmental agencies lack a safe, dedicated space to explore ideas with web3 counterparts to achieve more impact
• Real world interaction between impact players and blockchain technology is often “clunky” and slow. 

The solution: 

Web3/4Good will be a 1-day event in the metaverse at the Cardano Summit 2024 in Dubai. The conference will be dedicated to exploring how Web3.0 tools and technology can:

• Explore how blockchain can add value to business solutions and operations for impact
• Bring together SDG experts and web3 pioneers to address some of the greatest and most urgent social, health and environmental challenges.This will lead to new partnerships for good and help expand the Cardano Community footprint.
• Help solve some of the world's greatest and most urgent social, health and environmental challenges.
• Developing relations with the blockchain and innovation leads at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the world’s largest development agency with 170 country offices and 22,000 staff, as well as the European Union (EU), will open many doors for Cardano startups.
• Huge potential for contracts and applications in the aid sector: Total value of global philanthropy is estimated at $2.3 trillion, or 3% of global GDP 
• Bring together leading aid and humanitarian agencies and web3 impact professionals for groundbreaking discussions and workshops. Web3/4Good will be a meeting place of aid agents and humanitarians with web3 impact advocates, blockchains and service providers to network and promote the Cardano Blockchain efficiently. The environment will be filled with positive energy: a pantheon of solutions and a journey of discovery for web3 into philanthropy and vice versa. 
• Possibility to anchor UNDP and EU blockchain conference in Montenegro (in early October 2024) to the Cardano Web4/4Good event, providing continuity and scale 
• Repurpose Metaverse for solution-led business meetings between humanitarian/aid agencies/NGOs and web3 impact drivers. The idea is to make this a go-to tool for cross fertilisation between these sectors looking to address SDGs through use of blockchain tools. This will not be your typical Metaverse experience! There will be an emphasis on one-to-one meetings from across the sector to ensure everybody walks away with new networks and action points. The final report will also present a 24-month ‘Sustainability Report’. 

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

Benefits to Cardano community

• First-ever Web3/4Good crossover conference hosted by Cardano Blockchain, cementing Cardano as a blockchain committed to impact 
• Main stand and stage at the metaverse for Cardano Foundation and/or Community
• Cardano as premium blockchain partner
• Three panels for Cardano ecosystem and community
• Cardano startups given extensive access to major international aid and philanthropic stakeholders and agencies 
• Potential to scale the event to other conferences and venues in late 2024/early 2025, including an opportunity to bring Cardano impact startups to Montenegro
• Developing relations with the blockchain and innovation leads at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the world’s largest development agency with 170 country offices and 22,000 staff, as well as the European Union (EU), will open many doors for Cardano startups.
• Huge potential for contracts and applications in the aid sector: Total value of global philanthropy is estimated at $2.3 trillion, or 3% of global GDP 
• Create a dedicated Metaverse space for Cardano ecosystem to advance impact discussions, networks and actions. There is room to explore cooperation with Cardano Metaverse partners such as  Future Fest.
• There is a potential to create synergies with existing aid and development events happening around the same time, such as Aidex and Development2030.

[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?

The consortium of Positive Blockchain, Innofund. UNDP IRH AltFinLab, and ImpactPlus brings together all the necessary team members and experience to make this project successful. The core team members have been working in the impact and technology space for several decades combined: 

Innofund.io is a Blockchain software house which has been building impact focused Dapps on chain since 2020, its team has the proven track record to build blockchain solutions for the global south and for use by international development agencies such as UNDP.

Positiveblockchain.io has established itself as a non-aligned industry stakeholder, mapping impact projects on chain. The PB team brings expertise, knowledge, data and extensive industry networks. Moreover, its team will take on the communication and community management of the project. 

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has strong links in the wider UN innovation ecosystem and with government and non-government agencies around the world. 

The mission of ImpactPlus is to spread blockchain-centric solutions in the field of international development to solve fundamental societal problems. Their focus is on methodology to have a measurable impact and demonstrate the value-add of using blockchain technology. 

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

The whole project is a 3 month commitment to plan, test, deploy, use, and report on THREE MILESTONES (Milestone 1, Milestone 2, Milestone 3): 

Milestone 1

Title: Confirm list of speakers, event programme and dates, as well as first sponsors and partners

Milestone 1 includes the following key activities:

• Confirm panel titles and themes, as well as full list of speakers
• Confirm tech team and metaverse partners
• Finalise list of sponsors and content partners  
• Develop marketing and engagement plan
• Finalise event dates

Acceptance criteria

The technical and business implementation report is finalised and published on Notion. It is accessible for community review. The report includes the following content:

• Aforementioned evidence in presented in a brief report, to be published on Notion, to the Cardano Community 

Evidence of Milestone completion

• Programme and plan meet Community’s expectations
• Extensive evidence of completion of Milestone 1 activities in report (speaker profiles, full programme, extensive marketing plan etc)

Expected timeline for the delivery

1 month: August 2024

Milestone 2

Title: Finalise Metaverse design, functionality and partners

Outputs

Milestone 2 includes the following key activities:

• Present final designs and prototype of the Metaverse venue
• Present outline of Metaverse functionality 
• Present final list of partners, sponsors and confirmed participants

Acceptance criteria

• Prototype of metaverse is available to demo for Cardano Community
• Demo outlines key functionality 
• List of partners includes non-governmental and web3 organisations 

Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Cardano Community can access and navigate the Web3/4Good Metaverse
• Metaverse displays bespoke, tailor-made bespoke functionality tailor-made for Web3/4Good purpose
• AT LEAST x2 major aid agencies and blockchain partners have signed up

Expected timeline for the delivery

1 Month: September 2024

Milestone 3

Title: Implement and produce Web3/4Good metaverse event

Outputs

• Host Web3/4Good in the metaverse over the course of one day
• AT LEAST x8 key speakers on panels 
• X3 key panels
• X2 Cardano startups participate 

Acceptance criteria

• Cardano Community are given AT LEAST x1 month advance warning of event and can access and attend 
• AT LEASTx3 key panels on Web3/4Good feature major blockchain AND/OR philanthropic/aid experts
• Event held over 1 day
• Event is delivered WITHIN the context of current Cardano Summit dates (October 23-24, 2024)

Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Cardano Community startups, the Cardano Foundation and Cardano COmmunity members have been able to access the event in the metaverse 
• AT LEAST x2 key Cardano impact-driven startups participated in panels
• AT LEAST x3 panels were held, with talks made available to the public via access to the metaverse
• AT LEASTx8 key speakers across all panels

Expected timeline for the delivery

1 Month: October 2024

Title: Close-out report to community

Outputs

Final Milestone involves the following key activities:

• Draft a project close-out report and video and make it available to the community via Notion
• Sustainability Report

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

Alex Macbeth: Innofund. Strategy, Project Manager

Alex is the co-founder of Innofund and brings 15 years of experience working for aid agencies in Africa and Central Asia, media outlets and startups across five continents. He speaks seven languages. 

Teo Petricevic: UNDP IRH AltFinLab. Programme consultancy

Teo Petricevic has worked in innovation and startups for more than two decades. He works with UNDP’s Innovation team and AltFinLab in Istanbul. Teo will provide consultancy and feedback all along the process. 

Raquel Suárez: Impact Plus. Programme development

Raquel Suárez Domínguez is a seasoned professional specializing in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL), Python data science, gender, and inclusion, strongly focusing on adapting traditional MEAL frameworks of international humanitarian work to the blockchain space. Her expertise quantifies blockchain initiatives' social implications and added value, demonstrating a deep commitment to leveraging technology for positive change. His influential work with Impact Plus includes the notable study 'Blockchain for International Development and Humanitarian Cases: A Deep Dive' for the FCDO UK Government (link here). 

Maciej Bulanda: Positive Blockchain. Programme Manager. 

Maciej is a social impact entrepreneur and product manager with expertise in financial innovation in emerging markets. He worked on numerous innovation projects in the humanitarian context, leading research across 10 markets, and implementing several web3 payment systems in Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific. He worked with Oxfam, GIZ, Celo, Coinbase, CARE, Mercy Corps, WFP, and others. Maciej contributed to policy papers, reports, and studies on the use of digital currencies in the aid context, speaking frequently at different forums and universities. He is a co-founder and board member of PositiveBlockchain Association.

Gabriel von Roda: Innofund. Strategy, Finance

Gabriel is co-founder of Innofund and brings two decades of experience working for startups on business development in Europe, the USA, South America and East Asia.

Dan Shephard, CTO

Dan came across computers in the 1980s. He was soon dismantling and reassembling them and studied computer science. In the last 30 years he has focused on software, working as a senior developer for medical institutes, messenger apps and augmented reality art projects. 

Chahat Bhateja, Chief Smart Contract Engineer

Chahat is a smart contract engineer with experience working in half a dozen blockchain ecosystems, including Algorand and Cardano.

Vikash Saini, Head of UI/UX

Vikash brings a decade of experience working on apps and frontend development. He is currently the lead designer with Webmob Solutions. 

Amit Walia, Senior Full Tech Stack Developer 

Amit has overseen dozens of small and large projects in the tech space as a senior developer and project manager  

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

Overview:

Tech/production:

46000 ADA

Project Management & Team:

29000 ADA

Admin, legal and travel:

19000 ADA

Marketing & communications:

6000 ADA

Milestone 1: 25,000 ADA

• Key hires (experienced events manager for metaverse event)
• Speaker downpayments (flights and admin)
• UI/UX costs (web and conference digital design)
• Metaverse downpayment
• Staff salaries
• Admin and legal

Milestone 2: 50,000 ADA

• Tech production costs
• Marketing
• Salaries
• Communication costs
• Tech team costs
• Looking ahead to event production costs (legal, licensing etc)

Milestone 3: 25,000 ADA

• Event costs: additional staff costs
• Marketing and advertising 
• Project management and salaries
• Remaining tech costs 
• Remaining participant fees and costs

*Note: the project is taking into account an ADA cost of 0.5 USD with a 10% buffer for price going down. If the price goes up we will aim to add additional services.

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

The value proposition consists of several factors:

1) Huge value to the Cardano ecosystem in bringing major players shaping SDG policy and implementation work into the same ‘room’ under a Cardano banner. 

2) Hosting the event in a hybrid space between the Cardano Summit and the metaverse, reduces the costs 

3) Reinforces social impact and SDG-driven value-add of Cardano Summit with additional dedicated event in an innovative metaverse space

4) Hosting the event in the metaverse reinforces Cardano’s commitment to green, low carbon footprint experiences and repurposes the metaverse in an innovative way

5) The project will bring urgent and real world use case applications and business challenges that can be solved on the Cardano blockchain, also engaging the Cardano Community and Ecosystem.

6) The value of this proposal will also support the Cardano positioning as a platform for RWA and onboard the Cardano a consortium of companies and organisations supporting the ecosystem growth