Last updated 7 months ago
Cardano remains invisible to most Ethiopians. Without a national awareness push plus rapid hands-on blockchain training, Ethiopia will miss Web3 jobs and startups. Voters: fund the wake-up call.
multi-city blockchain hackathon tour with nationwide TikTok ads, prize pools, on-site wallet onboarding, developer tracks, public code, and community channels to turn attention into builders.”
This is the total amount allocated to Cardano Breakthrough: East African 6-City Hackathon.
Please provide your proposal title
Cardano Breakthrough: East African 6-City Hackathon
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?
Cardano remains invisible to most Ethiopians. Without a national awareness push plus rapid hands-on blockchain training, Ethiopia will miss Web3 jobs and startups. Voters: fund the wake-up call.
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
• Code: hackathon starter kits and finalists under Apache-2.0. • Content: workshop recordings, slides, and handbooks under CC BY 4.0. • Repos: public GitHub org with templates, issues, and city playbooks for replication.
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal
Hackathons
Who you’re targeting, how you’ll reach them, and why this matters for Cardano.
we are targeting university students, devs, early career tech professionals, founders, civic tech, local SMEs. Reach: national TikTok creator campaign (top-of-funnel), campus roadshows and club outreach (registration), city channels and study groups (retention), and follow-up virtual office hours (continuity).
Provide a list of key activities of your project?
• Large TikTok ad & creator campaign announcing prize pools and city dates.
• National Addis flagship to consolidate creators & press.
• Six monthly blockchain-centred hackathons: Addis, Adama, Hawassa, Jimma, Arba Minch, Harar.
• Developer tracks (Plutus / native tokens / metadata / wallets / oracles / indexers / oracles / DeFi primitives).
• Non-dev founder track (product, regulation, pilot design).
• Public library and GitHub org for reuse.
What are your success metrics?
• ≥5,000,00 TikTok impressions;
≥150,00 engagements; ≥20,000 registration clicks.
• ≥3,000 cumulative participants;
≥500 active developers on Cardano starter tasks.
• ≥60 code submissions; ≥6 pilot commitments with local partners.
• ≥5,000 combined community members across city channels; retention >30%.
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
This program is a single engineered funnel that transforms broad digital awareness into durable on-chain participation and pilot readiness. The plan recognizes two barriers that typically prevent mass adoption: (1) attention — reaching people in a cost-efficient, localized way; and (2) conversion — turning passive interest into hands-on developer capability. We address both with a tightly instrumented funnel: national short-form creator content and paid boosts (top-of-funnel) feed UTM-tracked registrations into six practical cohort cycles (middle & bottom funnel). Each cohort is intentionally flexible — topic selection (wallets/tokens, DeFi patterns, identity, data/oracles, payments, or foundational refreshers) is determined by participant readiness and mentor availability rather than a rigid city schedule. This avoids over-promising, ensures high-quality hands-on delivery, and maximizes the number of reproducible artifacts produced.
Cohorts run as weekend or two-day sessions to reduce opportunity cost for participants and to synchronize mentor availability. Each cohort delivers: (A) pre-cohort learning material and a pretest to baseline skills; (B) hands-on labs that require a testnet transaction or a GitHub pull request as proof of learning; (C) a focused mini-hackathon in which teams produce a public repository, a README describing architecture and tradeoffs, and a short demo video; (D) judged demos with publicly published scorecards; and (E) post-cohort study circles and office hours coordinated by student ambassadors to sustain momentum.
The technical curriculum is Cardano-first and pragmatically tiered: core fundamentals (wallets, UTxO, tx creation) precede Plutus labs and token minting. For advanced topics (DeFi patterns, oracles, indexers), we use simplified templates and simulated data pipelines where necessary so teams can demonstrate real flows without fragile production dependencies. Judges evaluate correctness, reproducibility, security considerations, and pilot feasibility — the rubric rewards clarity and safety over brittle, unmaintainable complexity.
The national creator + paid boost campaign drives funnel volume. Creators are briefed on conversion objectives, localized messaging (Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Sidama transliterations where useful), and performance targets measured via UTM links. Creator contracts are conversion-oriented (bonuses for registrations) to maximize ROI. Central content production standardizes starter kits and micro-lessons; everything is published under permissive licenses so future organizers can replicate the model.
Operationally, the program uses clear gating: milestone payments are released only when evidence packages are submitted (analytics CSVs, registration/attendance CSVs, wallet tx logs, GitHub links, judge scorecards, and receipts). A contracted financial officer compiles bi-weekly statements and readies documents for a midline spot-check and final audit. This evidence-first design reduces waste, improves transparency, and gives Catalyst the verifiable artifacts needed to assess impact.
Because cohorts are flexible and not locked to specific cities, we create the freedom to run where readiness is highest. This reduces logistical risk and ensures each funded cohort produces public goods: starter kits, recorded lessons, and reproducible code. Prize money is conditional on open-sourcing and a short pilot plan to encourage follow-through. At program close we publish a consolidated City/Cohort Playbook documenting logistical runbooks, lessons learned, and templates to enable replication across other regions or countries.
Overall, the program stitches national brand traction with a practical, repeatable conversion mechanism to yield trained developers, open source artifacts, and pilot commitments — creating multiple durable entry points for Cardano adoption in Ethiopia.
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
This program’s impact is designed and measured across immediate outputs, durable outcomes, and systemic effects. We prioritize verifiable indicators and public goods that persist beyond the funded window.
Immediate outputs (months 0–3):
Awareness metrics: UTM-tracked impressions and click-throughs from the creator campaign and paid boosts. We will use platform CSV exports to verify impressions, watch time, and CTR.
Registrations & attendance: CRM exports provide registration and check-in data for every cohort. Each cohort produces an attendance CSV and a roster of participants.
Learning artifacts: Each cohort produces public GitHub repos with READMEs and demo recordings. We require that teams produce at least one verifiable on-chain or simulated testnet artifact (e.g., a minted native token or testnet tx id), which we collect as proof of hands-on outcomes.
M&E digests: Monthly digests summarize reach, conversion, attendance, skill improvements (pre/post), and per-milestone financial reconciliation.
Durable outcomes (months 3–12):
Developer pipelines: By the end of six cohorts we aim for a retained cohort of active developers who continue to contribute to starter kits, open issues, and follow-up projects. We measure commit activity, issue creation, and participation in study circles.
Public goods: Starter kits, recorded micro-lessons, and the public playbook are designed for reuse, lowering the marginal cost of future cohorts. The value of these is multiplicative: each piece of content may train many future participants at near-zero marginal cost.
Pilots & partnerships: We expect at least six pilot intent letters, ideally with local partners (NGO, university, SME, or hub). Each pilot intent is documented and attached to the milestone evidence pack. Pilot intent is defined conservatively — a letter of interest or a conditional MoU to continue technical work after the grant, not an immediate production contract. This conservative framing reduces risk while preserving credible follow-on pathways.
Systemic effects (12+ months):
Talent pipeline creation: Trained developers and ambassadors become the local human infrastructure that future Cardano projects can hire or partner with, increasing the probability of start-up formation and grant applications. We will collect case studies of career shifts (internships, paid freelance gigs, startup formation) as early indicators.
Ecosystem signals: The public GitHub org with starter kits and city-agnostic playbooks becomes a re-usable resource for other African regions. The multiplier effect is significant: if each public repo or recorded lesson helps even a small number of future learners, the long-term ROI far exceeds the initial spend.
Transparency & replication: By publishing complete evidence packages and an audit summary, we create a replicable model for other regions or funders to adopt. Our aim is that within a year, other hubs can reproduce the cohort model with local partners using the published playbooks.
Measurement & validation:
All key claims are verifiable. Reach metrics come from ad dashboards and UTM attribution. Participation metrics come from CRM exports and sign-in sheets. Learning gains are measured via standardized pre/post quizzes attached to the M&E digest. Technical outputs are verified by GitHub links and testnet tx logs. Financial transparency is assured by receipts and a contracted accountant who prepares monthly reconciliation and the final audit pack. A midline independent spot-check (month 3) validates the fidelity of reporting; a final independent audit reconciles all funds and outputs at project close.
Dissemination:
We publish the content library (full workshop recordings, micro-clips, slides, handbooks) under CC BY 4.0 and push all starter kits to a public GitHub org under Apache-2.0. Monthly M&E digests are shared with Catalyst and the public archive to maximize learning. We host a final public demo night (livestream where possible) to showcase finalist projects and attract follow-on interest from partners and funders.
In short, the program is engineered to produce verifiable immediate outputs and durable outcomes that create a long-term developer pipeline, public goods for replication, and credible pilot opportunities that can attract further investment or support.
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?
This program is feasible because it rests on three pillars: an accountable core team, practical operational systems, and staged validation with evidence gating. Each of these pillars is described below with specific practices and risk mitigations.
Core team & role clarity:
Project Lead (Amanuel Elias): single accountable applicant to Catalyst; responsible for partnerships, creator contracting, MOUs, and final reporting. The lead manages external communications and milestone sign-off.
Technical Lead: responsible for curricula, starter kits, Plutus labs, CI for reproducible submissions, mentor recruitment and technical dry-runs before every cohort. The technical lead ensures labs are reproducible in constrained environments.
Content Lead: manages creator briefs, content production, localization, captions, and the public content library. The content lead also prepares micro-lessons that allow cohorts with poor connectivity to follow offline.
Community Coordinator: manages registrations, student ambassadors, volunteer coordination, study circle scheduling, and post-cohort retention activities.
Policy & Governance Advisor: advises on institutional MOUs, pilot ethics, privacy & security risk mitigations, and public sector engagement.
Contracted Financial Officer: maintains receipts, compiles bi-weekly statements, prepares evidence packs, and readies documents for midline and final audits.
Operational systems & controls:
Evidence gating: each milestone release requires a complete evidence pack (ad analytics CSVs, UTM attribution, registration/attendance CSVs, wallet/testnet logs, GitHub links, judge scorecards, and receipts/invoices). No payment is released without these documents and a short milestone report.
Runbooks: we use standardized runbooks for cohort setup, mentor bench protocols, A/V checklist, content capture procedures, and judge scoring. Runbooks minimize variance between cohorts and reduce setup errors.
Pre-qualification: vendors for A/V, internet/hotspot rental, and printing are pre-qualified to accelerate procurement and control costs.
Dry-runs: at least one internal dry-run prior to cohort 1 validates CI, starter kits, and judge rubrics. Technical dry-runs are repeated if course content changes materially.
Multi-signature approvals: larger disbursements require two signatures (Project Lead + Financial Officer) to reduce risk of single-actor misuse.
Risk identification & mitigation:
Low funnel conversion from creators to registrations: creators are paid for conversions; we monitor UTM data in real time and have a reallocation fund (central contingency) to boost high-performing creatives. Early pilot week (week 1) allows rapid optimization.
Connectivity & power outages: cohort budgets include small hotspot/UPS contingencies and offline kits (downloadable materials + local mirrors). Critical demos can be recorded and uploaded later if connectivity prevents live testnet interactions.
Mentor shortage: remote mentors are pre-briefed and available for synchronous support; recorded fallback lectures reduce dependency on single mentors. We also recruit a bench of alumni mentors for continuity.
Venue cancellations: in-kind MOUs preferred; where a fee is required contingency funds or reallocation from per-cohort contingency are acceptable after documented approval. We prefer campus hosts to reduce venue risk.
Financial irregularities: receipts and a receipt-vault process; midline independent spot-check; final audit.
Staged validation & learning loops:
Pilot week & initial dry-run: validate creative hooks and cohort flow; use early metrics to adjust budgets and curricular pacing.
Monthly M&E digests: provide a transparent mechanism for rapid iteration and continuous improvement. Each digest contains raw exports and a short reflection on what worked and what didn’t.
Midline spot check (month 3): an independent reviewer validates evidence packages; we remediate any gaps before additional funds are released.
Final audit: reconciles all expenditures and deliverables, and is published alongside the final M&E digest.
Feasibility proof points:
Localized creators and ambassadors: these channels reduce cost-per-registration and increase attendance quality because campus and community networks are trusted.
Starter kits & CI pipelines: by enforcing a minimum reproducible output (a GitHub repo and a demo recording), we avoid ephemeral demos and ensure longitudinal value.
Flexible cohort model: not being locked to specific cities reduces logistic risk and allows us to run cohorts where readiness exists, maximizing outputs per funded cohort.
In sum, governance and operations are designed to be practical, auditable, and resilient. Every budget line supports a deliverable; every deliverable is matched to evidence that will be published in milestone packs. This design ensures feasibility and provides Catalyst with verifiable outcomes.
Milestone Title
Addis Ababa (Flagship Launch & Hackathon)
Milestone Outputs
Deliver a national awareness push timed with an Addis Ababa flagship launch: a two-day blockchain bootcamp + mini-hackathon focused on wallets, UTxO and native tokens. Outputs include: recorded workshop sessions, at least six public GitHub repos seeded with starter kits and team submissions, 4–6 short demo videos, an ad → UTM registration report, and onboarding of at least six student ambassadors scheduled for follow-up study circles.
Acceptance Criteria
At least 200 registrations are recorded and at least 50 participants complete the core hands-on labs (wallet setup, testnet txs, token minting) as verified by mentor checklists. A minimum of six public repos with READMEs and demo videos are published. UTM attribution ties registered users to the campaign and one study-circle date is scheduled (with moderator contact).
Evidence of Completion
Upload ad analytics CSVs and UTM attribution report, registration and attendance CSVs, pre/post quiz exports showing skill improvement, mentor checklists verifying lab completion, GitHub repo links and commit histories for six published repos, demo video links/files, ambassador onboarding logs and scheduled study-circle invite, and receipts / invoices for all cohort expenditures.
Delivery Month
1
Cost
10000
Progress
20 %
Milestone Title
Adama (Developer Workshops & Hackathon)
Milestone Outputs
Run a two-day developer-focused cohort in Adama concentrating on wallet workflows, metadata, and token economics; produce at least six public repositories from teams, workshop recordings, short technical micro-lessons, mentor reports, and an active community channel for follow-up study circles with scheduled sessions.
Acceptance Criteria
At least 150 registrations, with at least 40 participants completing the core developer labs as validated by mentor checklists. At least six working repos published with READMEs and demo videos. Micro-lessons (minimum of three clips) uploaded to the content library. Community channel shows active membership and scheduled study circle dates.
Evidence of Completion
egistration and attendance CSVs, mentor verification checklists, GitHub repo links and commit histories, demo video files/links, uploaded micro-lesson URLs, community channel export showing membership and activity, and receipts/invoices for cohort costs.
Delivery Month
1
Cost
10000
Progress
40 %
Milestone Title
Hawassa (DeFi Patterns / Applied Labs)
Milestone Outputs
Deliver a two-day cohort in Hawassa focused on simplified DeFi patterns and safe contract labs (AMM skeleton, liquidity basics) with reproducible templates. Outputs include at least six public repos with architecture notes, demo videos, recorded walkthroughs, and at least one documented pilot-interest communication with a local partner.
Acceptance Criteria
Minimum 150 registrations, 40 participants complete labs (mentor-verified). At least six repositories published with README + architecture note and demo video. Judges/mentors confirm reproducibility for at least four repos. One pilot-interest email or note from a stakeholder is provided.
Evidence of Completion
Registration/attendance CSVs, pre/post quiz exports, mentor reproducibility confirmations, GitHub links and commit history, demo videos, architecture notes in repos, pilot interest emails/letters, and receipts for all expenditures.
Delivery Month
1
Cost
10000
Progress
50 %
Milestone Title
Jimma (Identity & Credentials / MVP Track)
Milestone Outputs
Run a two-day cohort in Jimma emphasizing identity primitives, verifiable credentials, or product MVPs depending on cohort readiness. Produce at least six public repos with privacy & safety notes, demo recordings, a short privacy checklist template for future teams, and community follow-up schedules.
Acceptance Criteria
At least 150 registrations and 40 participants complete labs as validated by mentor checklists. At least six repos published with privacy/safety notes, demo videos included, and one local stakeholder expresses conditional pilot interest in writing (email or letter).
Evidence of Completion
Registration/attendance CSVs, pre/post assessment exports, GitHub repo links and commit histories with privacy/safety notes, demo recordings, mentor confirmation emails, pilot interest letters or emails, and receipts for venue, catering, stipends and content capture.
Delivery Month
1
Cost
10000
Progress
70 %
Milestone Title
Arba Minch (Data/Oracles & Integration Labs)
Milestone Outputs
Deliver a two-day cohort in Arba Minch covering indexer patterns, simple oracle integrations, or simulated data flows where needed. Outputs include at least six public repos demonstrating data mapping or simulations, demo videos, transition notes for productionization, and at least one scheduled study circle focused on integrations.
Acceptance Criteria
Minimum 150 registrations, 40 participants complete integration labs as validated by mentor checklists. At least six repos published with demo videos and transition notes. Judges confirm the clarity and feasibility of at least four repos and the content archive includes a transition checklist.
Evidence of Completion
Registration/attendance CSVs, mentor checklists, GitHub links and commit histories, demo recordings, transition notes in repos, judge validation notes, saved study-circle schedule items, and receipts/invoices for all local spend.
Delivery Month
1
Cost
10000
Progress
80 %
Milestone Title
Harar (Payments, Token Economics & Final Demo Night)
Milestone Outputs
Run a final two-day cohort and public demo night in Harar focused on micropayments, merchant onboarding, and token economics. Outputs include consolidated finalist demos, a public content archive containing all cohort videos and starter kits, prize disbursement receipts for winners, and a final M&E digest and financial reconciliation ready for audit.
Acceptance Criteria
At least 150 registrations for the final cohort and event; finalists present reproducible demos in the demo night; at least one documented pilot commitment (email/MoU) is secured; the consolidated content archive is published and the final M&E digest alongside reconciled receipts is uploaded.
Evidence of Completion
Registration and attendance CSVs, GitHub links for finalists, demo night recording and agenda, judge scorecards, prize distribution receipts and beneficiary attestations, pilot intent letters/MoUs, published archive link, final M&E digest PDF, and accountant-prepared reconciliation with all receipts attached.
Delivery Month
1
Cost
10000
Progress
100 %
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
Milestone 1 — Addis Ababa (Flagship Launch & Hackathon) — 10,000 ADA
Milestone 3 — Hawassa (DeFi Patterns / Applied Labs) — 10,000 ADA
Milestone 4 — Jimma (Identity & Credentials / MVP Track) — 10,000 ADA
Milestone 6 — Harar (Payments, Token Economics & Final Demo) — 10,000 ADA
Grand Total
TOTAL = 60,000 ADA
This breakdown is fair, transparent, and balanced — every hackathon/city visit has the same 10k allocation with detailed sub-items (team stipends, travel, venue, catering, content capture, prizes, promotion, contingency).
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
This program maximizes value for money by concentrating central spend where it increases conversions and distributing practical cash to cohorts to ensure high-quality, auditable outputs. The value case rests on four pillars: leverage of in-kind resources, multiplier effects of public goods, careful evidence gating, and conservative unit economics.
Leverage of in-kind resources.
Multiplier effects of public goods.
Evidence gating reduces waste.
Conservative unit economics and realistic metrics.
Targeted central spend.
Risk-adjusted contingency and operational readiness.
Pathways to follow-on investment.
Auditability and measurable ROI.
In summary, the budget balances a modest but effective central campaign with reliable per-cohort funding adequate for real on-the-ground execution. The evidence-gated approach, public goods orientation, and conservative unit economics create a strong value proposition that maximizes outcomes per ADA invested.
Terms and Conditions:
Yes
Amanuel Elias — Project Lead
Technical Lead — Henos Tefera
GitHub: https://github.com/henostefera
Content Specialist & Project Coordinator — Suraphel Desalegn
Community Engagement Coordinator — Heran Terefe
Policy & Governance Advisor — Worku Sendek
Financial Officer / Accountant (contracted) — TBD
Volunteer Student Ambassadors & Guest Mentors
6–12 ambassadors per cohort sourced from campus clubs; guest mentors drawn from Cardano community & regional experts.