Cardano open source supply chain traceability API & SDK

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Cardano open source supply chain traceability API & SDK

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

95000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

8

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

Most supply chain traceability tools are costly, closed, and complex, leaving developers and SMEs without flexible, easy-to-adapt tools for building transparent, interoperable supply chain solutions.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://www.cardanotrace.online/
,
• https://github.com/ikeoffiah/CardanoTrace
,
• https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1sjQ-we-W5H43QYQRAG3nz_6yDXVDMaxIsG3Be6goHmg/edit?usp=sharing
,
• https://drive.google.com/file/d/14a0ml1B--DpyPG2JPnfxciKNS82sh-zg/view?usp=sharing

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

No

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

No dependencies

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

License and Additional Information

This project will be released under the MIT License and will be source-available from day one via a public GitHub repository

[Theme Selection] Theme

Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal

Supply Chain

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Mention your open source license and describe your open source license rationale.

CardanoTrace will be released under the MIT License, ensuring free use, modification, and distribution. This permissive license encourages broad adoption, developer contributions, and integration across industries, maximizing impact and accelerating Cardano’s ecosystem growth.

How do you make sure your source code is accessible to the public from project start, and people are informed?

CardanoTrace’s source code will be hosted in the public GitHub (https://github.com/ikeoffiah/CardanoTrace)) repository under the MIT License, ensuring free access, use, and contribution. Development will be fully transparent, with open issue tracking, pull requests, and regular milestone updates. We will actively inform the community through the Cardano Forum, developer channels, and social media (Discord, etc.), sharing changelogs, documentation, and contribution guidelines to encourage adoption and collaboration.

How will you provide high quality documentation?

We will ensure high-quality, accessible documentation to support adoption and ease of integration for developers and businesses through:

• Dedicated docs directory in the GitHub public repo.
• Clear README showing API reference, SDK guides, sample integrations, and Plain language with code snippets.
• Version-control for transparency.
• Published documentation on Read the Docs, Mintify and GitHub Pages
• Access to community feedback via GitHub issues.
• SDK published on PyPI.org for easy Python installation and integration.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

We will develop CardanoTrace (https://www.cardanotrace.online/) ,an open-source, fully modular supply chain traceability platform designed to integrate seamlessly with the Cardano blockchain. This platform will empower developers and businesses to create transparent, interoperable, and low-cost traceability solutions without having to build from scratch.

It would incorporate:

• Smart Contract: At its core, CardanoTrace will feature Plutus smart contracts to record immutable product lifecycle events—such as origin, transport milestones, compliance checks, and ownership transfers—directly on the Cardano blockchain. These contracts will be optimized for scalability, security, and interoperability with other Cardano-based services.
• REST API and QR Code: A REST API will provide easy integration with web, mobile, IoT, and ERP systems, while standardized data models and schemas will ensure interoperability across diverse supply chain environments. To enhance end-user trust, the platform will include a QR code generation and verification service, allowing anyone to instantly confirm a product’s authenticity via on-chain data.
• SDK: To maximize developer adoption, CardanoTrace will ship with an SDK (starting with Python) and comprehensive documentation, enabling rapid customization and integration.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

Direct Benefits:

• Provide the Cardano developer community and businesses with a ready-made blockchain traceability backend.
• Reduce development time for new supply chain projects from months to weeks.
• Expand Cardano’s utility in high-value, real-world use cases.

Ecosystem value:

• Increase on-chain transactions through adoption of traceability features.
• Strengthen Cardano’s position in enterprise blockchain discussions and ecosystem.

[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & 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 team has direct control over all development deliverables. There are no external deployment dependencies — the final output will be a self-contained platform + API ready for any business or project to integrate.

Our team include:

1. Full stack software developer

Pius Ikeoffiah is a full-stack developer with over 5 years of experience building software solutions. He contributed to the development of Spark, a blockchain-based financial platform that helped Africans save money collectively at low cost, leveraging blockchain technologies. He also has extensive experience creating software that enables businesses to track their assets in real time. Most recently, at Sage Microsystems, he worked on MVI (https://www.mvitracking.com/),,) where he developed Android and iOS applications that allow users to monitor assets—such as cars, trucks, and construction equipment—in real time.

Github: https://github.com/ikeoffiah

2. Project Manager and Technical Writer

Frema B. Boamah is a Project Management and IT professional with over five years of experience in startup leadership, product development, and ecosystem building. She cofounded a transportation startup, Trober in 2022 and is the Executive Director of the DeLotus Foundation. She has experience leading cross-functional teams and delivering impactful digital initiatives. With an MSc in Information and Communication Science, she is well versed in translating complex technical work into clear, actionable documentation. For this project, she will handle the user interface and user experience as well as the documentation and open-source release management, ensuring the platform is adoption-ready, and positioned for long-term community use.

Portfolio: https://frema.my.canva.site/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benedicta-frema-boamah/

Validating Feasibility

We will validate the feasibility of our approach through a staged, in-house and community-led process such as:

Prototype and internal Testing

• Build an MVP of the smart contracts and API layer.
• Test core features on the Cardano testnet to ensure contract integrity, event tracking accuracy, and compliance logic.

Cardano Developer Ecosystem User Testing

• Engage Cardano ecosystem developers via Catalyst channels, Discord, and developer forums.
• Provide access to the MVP, documentation, and SDK for direct integration testing.
• Gather developer feedback on usability, integration effort, and performance.

Performance Benchmark

• Execute load tests to confirm transaction throughput, API latency, and blockchain query speed.
• Validate against predefined benchmarks (e.g., <2 seconds for QR generation, <5 seconds for provenance queries).

Code Review and Iteration

• Conduct internal peer reviews for smart contract and API code before finalizing mainnet deployment.
• Incorporate Cardano developer community feedback from the user testing phase into final build.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Project Setup, Architecture & Full Smart Contract Development

Milestone Outputs

Requirements and Architecture

• Gather complete system and business requirements.
• Define user journeys, process flows, and key use cases.
• Produce system architecture diagram covering smart contract ↔ API ↔ QR service ↔ SDK interactions.
• Finalize and document technical stack (Plutus, backend framework(FastAPI) DB(Postgres, SQLite), hosting(AWS,GCP), QR library).
• Identify and document security considerations (key management, API auth, contract safety).

Infrastructure setup

• Intialize GitHub repository with branching strategy, contribution guidelines, and issue templates.
• Set up CI/CD pipelines for smart contracts and backend with automated linting, testing, and deployment to test environments.
• Configure static analysis and code quality tools.

Smart Contract Development

• Develop Plutus smart contracts for:
  1. Product event recording.
  2. Provenance tracking.
  3. Compliance state updates.
  4. Ownership transfers.
• Implement supporting utility functions and on-chain data structures.
• Perform unit and integration testing on Cardano testnet (minimum 70% test coverage).
• Deploy functional contracts to Cardano testnet.

Documentation

• Smart contract specifications with function signatures, events, and expected behavior.
• Document test cases and results.

Acceptance Criteria

Criteria

• Architecture and specifications approved by the team.
• Contracts compile successfully and pass all tests with ≥70% coverage.
• Testnet transactions confirm correct execution of contract logic.
• Security review completed and documented.

Evidence of Completion

1. GitHub repo with architecture docs, specs, smart contract code, and tests.
2. Test coverage reports.
3. Cardano testnet transaction hashes.
4. CI/CD pipeline logs showing successful builds and deployments.

Delivery Month

3

Cost

30000

Progress

30 %

Milestone Title

API Layer Development

Milestone Outputs

• Develop REST API endpoints for smart contract interactions (create, read, update, query).

• Implement authentication (JWT or OAuth2).

• Add rate limiting and query filtering for efficient data retrieval.

• Build pagination for large datasets.

• Create error handling and logging mechanisms.

• Write integration tests for all endpoints.

• Publish API documentation in Swagger/OpenAPI format.

Acceptance Criteria

• All endpoints functional and returning correct responses.

• Authentication and rate limiting work as expected under load tests.

• Integration tests pass with 70% coverage on API endpoints.

• API documentation matches actual API behavior.

Evidence of Completion

• Public GitHub repo with backend source code and tests.
• Hosted API documentation.
• Postman collection or cURL scripts for endpoint demonstration and Swagger API Docmentation

Delivery Month

2

Cost

22000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

QR Code Service

Milestone Outputs

• Develop QR code generator linked to blockchain transaction IDs.

• Build endpoint for QR code scanning and retrieval of product provenance & compliance data.

• Implement caching for faster scan responses.

• Provide minimal UI mockup for QR scanning.

Acceptance Criteria

• QR codes generated for every recorded transaction. This QR codes must be functional and has to be generated when any QR transaction is recorded.

• Scanning retrieves accurate and complete data from blockchain without any failure.

• Service integrates seamlessly with API layer.

Evidence of Completion

GitHub repo with QR service code.

Example QR codes linked to Cardano testnet transactions.

Demo video showing QR generation and retrieval.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

9000

Progress

10 %

Milestone Title

Developer SDK & Documentation

Milestone Outputs

• Develop SDK in at least one language (Python) for simplified interaction with the API and smart contracts.

• Provide easy setup scripts and package publishing (PyPI).

• Create full developer guide with step-by-step integration examples.

• Develop sample projects for web and mobile integrations.

Acceptance Criteria

• SDK installs without errors and works on first run, with clear installation instructions for multiple environments.

• Documentation includes working code samples that cover common integration scenarios and edge cases.

• Sample projects demonstrate SDK capabilities end-to-end, showing real interactions with the API, smart contracts, and QR code service.

Evidence of Completion

• GitHub repo with SDK code, guides, and sample projects.

• Published SDK package on PyPI.

• Feedback from an external developer confirming ease of use.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

14000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Open Source Release & Maintenance

Milestone Outputs

• Publish entire codebase under MIT license.

• Announce release via Cardano developer channels, social media, and forums.

• Begin post-launch support: bug tracking, issue resolution, and feature request handling.

• Prepare maintenance plan for ongoing support and upgrades.

Acceptance Criteria

• Announcements posted in at least 3 Cardano-related channels, including forums, social media groups, or developer communities, to raise awareness and attract contributors.

• Community engagement through issues and pull requests, encouraging feedback, bug reports, and code contributions to improve the project collaboratively.

Evidence of Completion

• Public repo link with MIT license file.

• Screenshots or links to announcements.

• Issue tracker showing community feedback.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

20000

Progress

20 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Total Request: ₳95,000

a. Smart Contract Development – ₳30,000

Human Resources:

• Lead Blockchain Developer – 12 weeks
• Smart Contract Auditor (External) – 2 weeks
• DevOps Engineer – 4 weeks

Scope:

• Develop Plutus smart contracts for product event recording, provenance tracking, compliance state changes, and ownership transfers.
• On-chain data structure design and utility functions.
• Unit and integration testing with ≥70% coverage on Cardano testnet.

Deliverables:

• GitHub repository with smart contract source code & specifications.
• Testnet deployment with transaction hashes.
• Security review documentation.

b. API Development – ₳22,000

Human Resources:

• Backend Developer – 8 weeks
• Security Specialist – 4 weeks
• QA Engineer – 4 weeks

Scope:

• Build REST API endpoints for interacting with smart contracts.
• Implement authentication, rate limiting, query filters, and pagination.
• Integration and load testing with ≥70% coverage.
• Publish API documentation in Swagger/OpenAPI format.

Deliverables:

• Public GitHub repo with backend source code & tests.
• Hosted API documentation.
• Postman/cURL endpoint test scripts.

c. SDK & Documentation – ₳14,000

Human Resources:

• SDK Developer – 6 weeks
• Technical Writer – 4 weeks

Scope:

• Develop Python SDK for simplified API & smart contract interactions.
• Create developer guide with integration examples.
• Build sample web and mobile projects.
• Publish SDK to PyPI.

Deliverables:

• GitHub repo with SDK source code, guides, and sample integrations.
• Published PyPI package.
• Positive feedback from external test developer.

d. Testing & QA – ₳11,000

Human Resources:

• QA Engineer – 6 weeks
• Developer Support – 3 weeks

Scope:

• Test coverage improvement for contracts, API, and SDK.
• Functional, integration, and load testing.
• Bug tracking and resolution before public release.

Deliverables:

• Test reports with ≥70% coverage metrics.
• Issue tracker showing bug resolution.

e. Project Management & DevOps – ₳10,000

Human Resources:

• Project Manager – 24 weeks
• DevOps Engineer – 4 weeks

Scope:

• Overall coordination of development, documentation, and community engagement.
• DevOps automation for builds, testing, and deployment.

Deliverables:

• Project tracking reports.
• Maintained GitHub issues & milestones.

f. Contingency / Miscellaneous – ₳8,000

Scope:

• Buffer for unexpected technical requirements, integration adjustments, or security reviews.

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?

This budget represents a high-return, impact-driven investment in the Cardano ecosystem, designed to deliver tangible, reusable, and scalable assets that directly contribute to blockchain adoption and sustainability.

a. Ecosystem-Wide Reusability

• CardanoTrace will be released under the MIT open-source license, ensuring that developers, startups, and enterprises can adopt, modify, and integrate the platform without licensing barriers.
• The platform’s modular architecture—including smart contracts, APIs, SDKs, and QR verification tools—will serve as a foundational layer for other Catalyst-funded projects, reducing duplication of effort and increasing delivery speed across the ecosystem.

b. Accelerate Time to market

• By reducing the development time for supply chain traceability solutions from months to weeks, the project lowers the barriers to entry for SMEs and accelerates the deployment of blockchain-powered applications.
• This directly increases on-chain activity and strengthens Cardano’s positioning in enterprise-grade blockchain solutions.

c. Cross Sector Impact

• CardanoTrace is sector-agnostic, with immediate applicability in: Agriculture – improving farm-to-market transparency , Pharmaceuticals – preventing counterfeit drugs and Manufacturing – ensuring compliance and product authenticity.

These applications enhance trust, sustainability, and economic resilience in key industries.

SDG Alignment

This project supports the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth): The platform reduces entry barriers for SMEs and entrepreneurs, enabling new blockchain-powered business models in sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing. By accelerating time-to-market for traceability solutions, CardanoTrace supports job creation in the digital economy and drives participation in high-value global supply chains.
• SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure): Through its modular architecture—comprising smart contracts, APIs, SDKs, and QR verification services—CardanoTrace strengthens blockchain infrastructure, promotes interoperability, and accelerates cross-sector adoption. This fosters technological advancement and positions Cardano as a leader in enterprise-grade blockchain solutions.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes