Last updated 9 months ago
Most African Computer Science graduates lack exposure to Cardano and blockchain, leaving them underprepared to innovate, build, or contribute to the global Web3 ecosystem.
Integrate a Cardano blockchain curriculum in designated African universities, train faculty, mentor students, and support final year projects to grow skilled innovators for the ecosystem.
This is the total amount allocated to Cardano Blockchain Curriculum in Top Universities in Africa.
Please provide your proposal title
Cardano Blockchain Curriculum in Top Universities in Africa
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
60000
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last
6
Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated
No
Original Language
en
What is the problem you want to solve?
Most African Computer Science graduates lack exposure to Cardano and blockchain, leaving them underprepared to innovate, build, or contribute to the global Web3 ecosystem.
Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?
No
Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'
No dependencies
Will your project's outputs be fully open source?
Yes
License and Additional Information
Yes. All project outputs will be open source under the Apache 2.0 license, including curriculum materials, faculty guides, and student projects. This ensures scalability, reuse, and long-term impact across Africa and beyond.
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal
Education
Who you’re targeting, how you’ll reach them, and why this matters for Cardano.
We are targeting final-year Computer Science students and faculty in top African universities. We will reach them through formal partnerships with departments, on-campus workshops, and mentorship programs supported by local Cardano hubs. By embedding Cardano in academic learning, we introduce hundreds of skilled young developers directly into the ecosystem. This matters because it creates a sustainable talent pipeline, drives adoption through real-world student projects, and positions Cardano as the leading blockchain platform for Africa’s next generation of innovators.
Provide a list of key activities of your project?
Key activities include designing and localizing a module by module Cardano curriculum, secure MOUs with at least three major universities and onboard faculty champions, run train-the-trainer sessions, deliver hybrid workshops for final-year students, provide mentorship from Cardano developers, guide students to build Cardano-based capstone projects, publish an open Talent Directory of graduates and projects and run continuous monitoring, feedback loops, and transparent reporting for ecosystem reuse.
What are your success metrics?
Success will be measured by the following; at least 150 students trained across 3 universities, 85% completion rate of the Cardano curriculum, 10+ Cardano-powered ideas developed or integrated/utilized as part of their final year projects , 3 faculty champions equipped to continue teaching, 5+ student-led proposals submitted to future Catalyst rounds, publication of an open Talent Directory with all graduates and projects and adoption of the curriculum by at least one university within 12 months, ensuring long-term sustainability and ecosystem integration.
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
Africa produces over 500,000 ICT graduates annually (World Bank, 2023), yet less than 2% receive any formal exposure to blockchain technology in their academic journey (Blockchain Education Report, 2022). This disconnect creates a major skills gap: while African youth are the most crypto-aware in the world (Statista, 2023, shows Nigeria with 66% crypto awareness, the highest globally), they lack structured pathways to move from curiosity to contribution.
Specifically, in Computer Science programs across Africa, blockchain is often treated as an optional seminar or skipped entirely. Students graduate knowing programming fundamentals but are unprepared to build decentralized applications, design smart contracts, or contribute to open blockchain ecosystems like Cardano.
This means Cardano is missing out on Africa’s massive talent pool, a continent expected to contribute 42% of global youth by 2030 (UNDP, 2022).
Our Solution
We propose to integrate a Cardano blockchain education curriculum into the final year programs of three top African universities (initial pilot in Nigeria). The initiative is designed to bridge academia and blockchain ecosystems by creating a structured, replicable, and open-source education pipeline.
Key Targets:
Approach
1. Curriculum Design (Open-Source, Apache 2.0)
2. University Engagement & Faculty Training
3. Student Training & Mentorship
4. Student Project Development
5. Talent Directory Publication
Technology Utilized
Cardano blockchain (Plutus, Marlowe, smart contracts).
Plutus Playground for student experimentation.
Open-source learning platforms (GitHub for curriculum, Apache 2.0 license).
Hybrid delivery tools (Zoom/Google Meet + physical workshops).
Why This Matters
Africa is the fastest-growing blockchain market globally with a 1,200% adoption increase in 2021 (Chainalysis). Yet much of this adoption is speculative (trading/crypto) rather than building and innovating.
Embedding Cardano into African universities creates a pipeline of young builders ready to design real-world solutions on Cardano.
This initiative positions Cardano as the leading blockchain for Africa’s innovators, differentiating it from chains that focus solely on speculation.
By training Computer Science students at scale, we unlock long-term ecosystem contributors, not just users.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Importance to the Cardano Ecosystem
By embedding Cardano education into Africa’s top universities, this project bridges the critical gap between academic learning and blockchain innovation. It transforms final-year students from passive learners into active Cardano contributors, developers, entrepreneurs, and community leaders.
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
1. Strengthening the Global Cardano Ecosystem
This proposal addresses one of the most pressing needs in the Cardano community: a sustainable pipeline of new talent and builders. By embedding Cardano into top African universities, we ensure that hundreds of Computer Science graduates are not only blockchain-aware but Cardano-competent.
This creates a continuous inflow of skilled contributors into Cardano who will:
Instead of competing with other chains for the same global talent pool, Cardano will grow its own dedicated base of developers in Africa, the youngest and fastest-growing continent on earth.
2. Expansion Into High-Growth Regions
Africa represents one of the largest opportunities for blockchain adoption globally:
For Cardano, this is beyond an emerging market, this is the future engine of ecosystem growth and this project ensures Cardano, not competing blockchains, becomes the default educational, technological, and entrepreneurial standard for Africa’s youth.
3. Real-World Use Cases and Localized Solution
By guiding students to build final year projects on Cardano, this project ensures the ecosystem gains not only more users but also new products and experiments rooted in African realities.
Potential outcomes include:
These projects expand the use case portfolio of Cardano, showcasing its versatility and relevance beyond Western markets.
4. Open-Source Contribution for Global Reuse
All outputs will be released under the Apache 2.0 license:
This ensures that the wider Cardano community, whether in South America, Asia, or Europe, can reuse, adapt, and scale these resources. In other words, while the first impact is African, the secondary impact is global.
5. Building Bridges Between Academia and Blockchain
Historically, blockchain has struggled to break into mainstream academic curricula. This project creates a blueprint for academic adoption, showing other universities worldwide how to:
This strengthens Cardano’s reputation as the blockchain most aligned with academia, further complementing IOHK’s and the Cardano Foundation’s research-driven ethos.
6. Impact on Governance and Catalyst Participation
One of Catalyst’s long-term challenges is to expand voter and proposer participation. By introducing hundreds of African students and faculty into Cardano, this project will:
This directly strengthens Voltaire governance, as young, tech-savvy Africans become lifelong Cardano voters, builders, and leaders.
7. KPIs for Impact Measurement
The following KPIs ensure impact is measurable and visible to the Cardano community:
Each KPI is tied to a verifiable output (student lists, project repositories, faculty training sessions, Catalyst proposals) that can be audited by the community.
8. Why This Matters to Cardano
This proposal delivers direct, long-term value to the ecosystem by:
By funding this proposal, Catalyst is investing in the future of Cardano’s global ecosystem. The impact will be exponential as every year, new cohorts of African students will graduate into the Cardano community, continuously fueling innovation, governance, and adoption.
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?
We have a proven track record of successfully delivering complex, community-driven projects with transparency, trust, and measurable impact.
In Project Catalyst Fund 13, we were funded to organize the West Africa Undergraduate & Early Developer Hackathon, which we executed with publicly available deliverables including event recordings, participant reports, and mentorship outputs. This initiative not only trained emerging developers but also resulted in student-led projects that extended beyond the event itself.
Additionally, through SingularityNET’s Deep Funding Round 4, we successfully built the SingularityNET Africa Community, partnering with other organizations to onboard multiple products onto the SingularityNET AI marketplace. We also facilitated the growth of AI student clubs across Africa - including in Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, and beyond - laying the foundation for sustainable AI and blockchain education ecosystems on the continent.
Our Capabilities
Our team combines strengths in research, software development, project management, and community engagement. We have onboarded over three AI products onto the SingularityNET marketplace and over 8 produots to the cardano mainnet as well as fostered developer engagement through mentorship and training. We have launched and managed AI student clubs across multiple African countries, creating structured pipelines for young innovators. From meet-and-greets to high-profile hackathons and roundtables, we have consistently delivered high-impact events that increase awareness and adoption of blockchain and AI. Our mentorship programs and student clubs continue to function as independent hubs, demonstrating our ability to design long-lasting structures beyond a single funding cycle.
Processes for Trust & Accountability
We are committed to handling funds with integrity, transparency, and community oversight. Our approach includes:
Detailed Budgeting where every expense is itemized, reviewed, and approved internally before disbursement.
Milestone-Based Fund Disbursement where funds are released only upon completion of key deliverables, ensuring that resource use is tied directly to progress.
Transparent Reporting where we share monthly progress reports/documentation with the community where applicable.
Validation of Feasibility
Our structured, step-by-step methodology demonstrates feasibility and reduces risks with
Pre-Program Preparation where we run preparatory workshops and distribute foundational learning resources to ensure students and faculty are ready to engage with Cardano.
Collaborate with Experts: We partner with experienced Cardano developers and ecosystem mentors to provide hands-on guidance, ensuring high-quality outputs.
Robust Networks: Our established partnerships with universities and developer communities across Africa guarantee access to the right audiences and infrastructure.
Tangible Deliverables: We measure success by the number of students trained, Cardano-based projects completed, new wallets opened, faculty champions onboarded, and the sustainability of university partnerships.
Why We Are Best Suited
Our track record across Catalyst and SingularityNET initiatives demonstrates both technical competence and community-building strength. We have repeatedly shown the ability to deliver projects on time and within budget, create transparent reporting structures as well as nurture communities that outlive individual funding cycles. For these reasons, we are confident in our ability to execute this project with trust, accountability, and maximum value to the Cardano community.
Milestone Title
Curriculum Development and University Engagement
Milestone Outputs
Development of a 3-module Cardano blockchain curriculum tailored for African universities.
Signed MOUs with three target universities (pilot in Nigeria) confirming participation.
Identification and onboarding of at least three faculty champions.
Acceptance Criteria
The curriculum will be ipublished and accessible to the community.
At least three universities will be formally committed to the program.
Faculty champions will be confirmed and prepared for training.
Evidence of Completion
Publicly accessible GitHub repository containing curriculum materials (Apache 2.0 licensed).
Scanned copies of signed MOUs with participating universities.
Confirmation letters or video statements from faculty champions.
Delivery Month
2
Cost
18000
Progress
30 %
Milestone Title
Faculty Training and Student Onboarding
Milestone Outputs
Train-the-trainer workshops for faculty champions to ensure sustainability.
Recruitment and onboarding of 150 final-year Computer Science students across the three universities.
Distribution of preparatory learning resources and setup of student learning environments.
Acceptance Criteria
At least three faculty champions trained and certified.
A minimum of 150 students registered and actively onboarded.
All students and faculty have access to required curriculum and learning environments
Evidence of Completion
Training session recordings and attendance registers for faculty workshops.
Public participant list (with student consent) showing enrollment numbers.
Screenshots or links showing students’ access to the Cardano learning resources and tools.
Delivery Month
2
Cost
12000
Progress
50 %
Milestone Title
Student Training, Mentorship, and Project Development
Milestone Outputs
Delivery of hybrid workshops (in-person and virtual) for final-year students.
Assignment of students to mentors drawn from the Cardano ecosystem.
Development of at least 10 Cardano-powered final year/capstone projects.
Acceptance Criteria
Workshops successfully completed with an 85%+ student participation rate.
Each student will be paired with a mentor.
At least 10 working student projects will be delivered delivered on Cardano.
Evidence of Completion
Workshop recordings, agendas, and attendance reports.
Mentor assignment list and mentorship logs.
GitHub or equivalent repositories of completed student projects.
Delivery Month
4
Cost
12000
Progress
90 %
Milestone Title
Close-Out and Community Reporting
Milestone Outputs
Publication of the African Cardano Talent Directory, listing students, faculty, and their projects.
Final close-out report including metrics, outcomes, and lessons learned.
Final project video summarizing the journey, impact, and next steps.
Acceptance Criteria
Talent Directory is published and shared openly.
Final report demonstrates that all objectives, KPIs, and deliverables were met.
Final video is available online for Catalyst community review and audit.
Evidence of Completion
Publicly accessible PDF and web version of the Talent Directory.
Final written report shared with the Catalyst community.
A published video (YouTube or equivalent) highlighting project execution and outcomes.
Delivery Month
6
Cost
18000
Progress
100 %
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
1. Curriculum Development and University Engagement – 10,000 ADA
Curriculum design & localization (open source under Apache 2.0) – 6,000 ADA
Content writers, subject experts, and technical reviewers.
Legal review of MOUs with universities – 2,000 ADA
Ensures proper agreements for integration into academic programs.
Documentation & publishing (GitHub repo, formatting, creative design) – 2,000 ADA
2. Faculty Training and Student Onboarding – 12,000 ADA
Train-the-trainer workshops for faculty champions – 4,000 ADA
Covers facilitator fees, materials, and hybrid delivery tools.
Student onboarding (150 students) – 5,000 ADA
Registration kits, preparatory resources, Cardano learning guides.
Learning environment setup – 3,000 ADA
Includes cloud hosting, collaborative tools, and IT support for labs.
3. Student Training, Mentorship, and Project Development – 18,000 ADA
Hybrid student workshops (in-person + online) – 8,000 ADA
Venue rentals, refreshments, travel stipends, and online hosting tools.
Mentor stipends (5–7 Cardano developers/experts) – 6,000 ADA
Compensating ecosystem mentors for project guidance.
Student project support – 4,000 ADA
Sandbox environments, technical assistance, and materials.
4. Community Engagement, Publicity, and Promotion – 6,000 ADA
Marketing & publicity – 3,500 ADA
Promotional campaigns across social media, student communities, and Cardano channels.
Community engagement activities – 2,500 ADA
AMA sessions, progress updates, and partnerships with local blockchain hubs.
5. Monitoring, Reporting, and Transparency – 8,000 ADA
Progress documentation (monthly reports, receipts, open dashboards) – 3,000 ADA
Final close-out report & video production – 3,000 ADA
Professional editing and design for community transparency.
Independent review & accounting services – 2,000 ADA
Ensures accountability and trusted fund management.
6. Project Management and Administration – 6,000 ADA
Project coordination & oversight – 5,000 ADA
Covers the lead project manager’s role in ensuring milestones are met on time and within scope.
Miscellaneous & contingency – 1,000 ADA
Reserved for unforeseen but necessary project costs.
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
This project represents a strong return on investment for the Cardano community because it directly addresses a critical gap - onboarding Africa’s vast pool of young Computer Science graduates into the Cardano ecosystem - through a model that is both scalable and sustainable.
100+ trained final-year students gain practical Cardano skills, creating a pipeline of builders rather than just crypto users.
10+ Cardano-based final year projects emerge, each with potential to evolve into Catalyst proposals or startups.
3 trained faculty champions ensure that Cardano education continues yearly, even after funding ends.
An open-source curriculum (Apache 2.0) becomes a reusable global asset for Cardano.
Talent Directory connects trained students to the global ecosystem, ensuring visibility and utility beyond the project.
For ₳60,000 (~$25k–30k depending on ADA/USD), the Cardano ecosystem gains new products, new developers, and long-term adoption in one of the world’s most blockchain-curious regions.
Curriculum design & localization (₳8,000): This requires subject experts, writers, and technical reviewers. Comparable freelance rates for curriculum developers in Nigeria are $20–$40/hour, which is far lower than Europe/US, making this highly cost-efficient for the community.
Faculty workshops & student onboarding (₳9,000 combined): Covering training sessions, hybrid tools, and learning kits. For context, a 2-day faculty workshop in Lagos costs $1,000–1,500 USD including space, facilitators, and logistics—our budget spreads this across three universities, which demonstrates lean efficiency.
Mentor stipends (₳5,000): Skilled blockchain mentors globally charge $50–100/hr. By tapping into African and Cardano mentors, we deliver the same expertise at a fraction of global costs, but still compensate fairly for time and knowledge.
Workshops & project support (₳7,000): Venue hire in Nigeria averages $300–500/day, with logistics for 50 students per site. This budget ensures high-quality delivery while remaining below international equivalents.
Reporting, auditing, and final video (₳9,000): Transparency costs are often under-budgeted. Here, we explicitly fund professional reporting, financial review, and a documentary-style video to ensure accountability and visibility. This not only secures trust but also leaves a record the community can audit.
Overall, all line items are grounded in local wage benchmarks and industry rates, ensuring proportionality and value for money.
Comparable blockchain training bootcamps in Nigeria (e.g., Binance Academy, ConsenSys programs) cost $500–$1,000 per participant for shorter, non-academic workshops.
Our project costs ~₳400 (≈$160–200) per student, including curriculum, mentorship, and final project support. This is 3–5x more cost-efficient, while also embedding Cardano permanently into university systems.
The multiplier effect: Each faculty champion trained will continue to teach 50–100 new students every year at no additional Catalyst cost.
Scalability: Once piloted in three universities, the open curriculum can be replicated across Africa without needing to redesign materials.
Sustainability: Faculty champions and university MOUs ensure continuity without future reliance on Catalyst funding.
Visibility: By documenting outputs (projects, Talent Directory, final report/video), we provide reusable resources that add long-term value to the Cardano community worldwide.
Conclusion
This project represents excellent value for the Cardano ecosystem because:
It delivers tangible, measurable outputs at a cost per student far below global averages.
It produces lasting infrastructure (curriculum, faculty champions, student clubs) instead of one-off workshops.
It aligns Cardano with Africa’s fastest-growing youth and blockchain adoption market, securing a strategic foothold.
It includes proper allocations for transparency, accountability, and community reporting, which many projects neglect.
For ₳60,000, Cardano is investing in the next generation of African builders, innovators, and Catalyst leaders. This is a high-leverage, low-cost pathway to secure long-term adoption and global ecosystem growth.
Terms and Conditions:
Yes
Duke Peter (Tech community Catalyst)
Duke is the founder of Ubuntu and AI and a leading catalyst for blockchain adoption and ethical AI development in Africa. With over a decade of experience in community engagement and communications, he has built strong ecosystems that connect innovators, entrepreneurs, and developers within the Web3 space.
As the African Community Lead for SingularityNET, Duke has spearheaded the platform’s regional expansion across Africa - organizing conferences, roundtables, townhalls, and research collaborations that have introduced thousands of participants to decentralized AI and blockchain. His leadership has also advanced the development of Afrocentric and ethical AI tools, ensuring that emerging technologies are shaped by Africa’s unique values and perspectives.
Duke is also a funded proposer in Catalyst Fund 13 (F13), where he continues to design and deliver projects that strengthen blockchain ecosystems through education, community-driven research, and capacity building.
Duke’s work sits at the intersection of blockchain ecosystems, AI ethics, and community empowerment, positioning him as a strategic leader capable of delivering high-value, sustainable outcomes for funded initiatives.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dukepeter/
Remostart (Tech Startup):
Remostart will serve as the technical partner for this project, bringing a global network of thousands of skilled professionals, including hundreds already integrated into the Cardano ecosystem across Africa. The team at Remostart comprises experts in artificial intelligence IOT and blockchain technology, with over a decade of experience in developing solutions and training the next generation of developers.
Achi Emmanuel (Researcher, Data Privacy and Ethics Specialist):
Achi is a seasoned freelance writer and researcher, he works with international Masters and PhD students as a think thank to refine their research topics and achieve both academic and organizational success. His expertise also extends to consulting for innovative firms locally and globally, driving business growth through informed insights. Additionally, he collaborate with cutting-edge tech startups to craft product strategies and technology adoption models that propel market entry.
He has contributed to several research interests and projects in niches spanning across sustainability, healthcare management, project management, marketing, business development, real estate development, disruptive technology solutions such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, zero knowledge proof, virtual reality, big data, IoT, augmented reality, mixed reality, management tech, genetics, information technology, and biotechnology.
Rejoice Olie (M&E/Data analyst)
Rejoice is a data analyst par excellence with nearly half a decade of experience. As someone deeply passionate about the transformative power of knowledge, her journey spans content creation, data analysis, and digital archiving, each role feeding her drive to make information accessible and impactful. She has worked as a Data Archiving Consultant at SCIDAR, where she spearheaded initiatives to optimize data storage and retrieval systems, ensuring the sustainability of critical digital collections. In addition to this, she has led data analysis for an Inclusivity research project within SingularityNET, identifying key trends and shaping policies that promote inclusivity. She has worked as a Content Review Analyst with Nigeria's leading Ed-tech firm, uLesson, she has analyzed hundreds of sessions, identifying trends and generating reports that empowered senior stakeholders to make data-driven decisions, ultimately enhancing both the app's functionality and user experience.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rejoice-olie/TBC
Victor Maxwell (Operations Manager)
As an experienced operations professional with over 4 years of expertise in web3 community management and moderation, Maxwell has successfully led high-impact projects across decentralized communities, enhancing operational efficiency and user engagement. His journey spans moderating communities for leading blockchain protocols and managing strategic growth initiatives for web3 projects. In doing so, he has developed a unique ability to optimize processes, reducing support response times by up to 40% while increasing community retention by 22%. He excels in designing and executing strategies that align community management efforts with overarching business operations. His strengths include establishing clear communication across cross-functional teams, implementing scalable processes, and delivering measurable results in user growth and satisfaction. Additionally, he is proficient in developing key operational metrics, improving internal workflows, and leading teams through the complexities of decentralized ecosystems. Drawing on his expertise in operational oversight, team coordination, and process optimization, he has been instrumental in fostering seamless project execution and operational excellence.
Lazarus Christian Chinaza (Project Manager)
Lazarus is a Project Manager, Operations Strategist, and blockchain advocate known for leading diverse teams and executing high-value projects. His background in mechanical engineering, leadership, and sustainability, combined with a passion for technology, helps organizations transform ideas into results.
He holds various key roles, including Project Manager at Better Africa Foundation, where he oversees development initiatives in education, health, and youth empowerment. He was also the Head of Marketing at Ovviy Tactical and was also the Operations Lead at Farmatrix Agro Allied & Technological Ltd, where he manages large-scale agricultural projects.
Lazarus is particularly passionate about blockchain technology, especially Cardano, and explores its potential to improve supply chain traceability and create equitable financial systems.
A graduate member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (GMNSE) and the Institute of Disaster Management and Safety Science (GDMSS), Lazarus is multilingual, speaking English, Igbo, and Hausa. His career is defined by resilience, resourcefulness, and a commitment to using innovation and leadership to empower communities and drive sustainable development in Africa.
You can view his portfolio at lazarus-transforms-africa.lovable.app