Last updated a month ago
Cardano solutions lack adoption from financial institutions and corporations slowing ecosystem development, transaction growth, and enterprise traction essential for Cardano’s long-term success.
A 6-month Cardano Corporate PoC Lab in Japan, led by Antler Ibex, engaging Japanese financial institutions and corporates to co-create problem statements and deliver real-world PoC that drive adoption
Please provide your proposal title
Cardano Corporate PoC Lab - Japan (powered by Antler Ibex)
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
770000
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 solutions lack adoption from financial institutions and corporations slowing ecosystem development, transaction growth, and enterprise traction essential for Cardano’s long-term success.
Supporting links
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?
No
License and Additional Information
Not open source
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal
Financial Services
Describe your established collaborations.
This project is delivered in collaboration with Antler Ibex, the corporate innovation and investment arm of Antler. Antler Ibex has strong corporate relations across Japan and globally, enabling access to Japanese Tier-1 financial institutions, regional banks, real estate conglomerates, and trading companies.
Through this network, we can scout corporates, facilitate workshops, and co-develop PoC that directly support Cardano adoption and enterprise use cases.
Describe funding commitments.
Antler is a global early-stage VC with $1.2B+ AUM and a portfolio of 1,500+ startups across 30 cities. Antler Ibex, our corporate innovation and investment arm, is fully backed by Antler’s global platform and investor base, which includes institutional LPs, sovereign wealth funds, and leading family offices. For this program, Antler commits dedicated partner and analyst resources, alongside Catalyst funding
Describe your key performance metrics.
Success will be measured by:
(1) 3+ Japanese financial institutions and/or Japanese real estate companies and/or Japanese corps engaged, (e.g. Sumitomo Real Estate, SMBC, Hokkuku Bank, Kyoto Bank, Mitsui-Fudosan, Hankyu Hanshin...)
(2) 3+ prioritized problem statements defined,
(3) 1 Cardano-based PoC scoped and developed until business case with selected corporate, working with Cardano projects, builders and developers, and
(4) Measurable growth in Cardano adoption through enterprise pilots, transactions, and ecosystem visibility.
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
Cardano solutions currently lack adoption among financial institutions and real estate companies, particularly in Japan, despite strong corporate interest in blockchain for payments, settlements, compliance, and tokenization. The Cardano Corporate PoC Lab – Japan (powered by Antler Ibex) provides a structured, 6-month program to bridge this gap by directly engaging financial institutions, co-creating problem statements, and delivering a Cardano-based PoC.
Program Structure
Outputs
This directly addresses the problem by creating a clear, enterprise-ready adoption funnel that translates corporate interest into Cardano transactions, solutions, and ecosystem growth.
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
This project will have a direct, positive impact on the Cardano community:
Ultimately, this project demonstrates real-world utility—the critical step to ensure Cardano’s long-term sustainability, reputation, and relevance as an enterprise blockchain.
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?
Antler Ibex is the world’s first full-service vertical growth engine for established corporates. Backed by Antler, the world’s most active early-stage VC (with 1,500+ investments globally with $1.2B AUM), and led by a seasoned team of venture and growth specialists, Ibex helps corporates strategically engage with the $3.5 trillion global venture economy to unlock growth (organic, inorganic, and transformational)
Track Record:
Team Capability:
Feasibility:
In summary: Antler Ibex’s combination of corporate access, delivery experience, and technical capability ensures the program will be delivered with high trust, accountability, and impact for both corporate and the Cardano community.
Milestone Title
Milestone 1 – Corporate Scouting completed
Milestone Outputs
Identification and onboarding of at least 3 Japanese financial institutions and/or corporates. Each will formally confirm participation in ideation workshops, committing resources to explore problem statements.
Acceptance Criteria
Receipt of written confirmation letters or emails from 3 corporates indicating willingness to participate in the program and workshops, with clear acknowledgment of ideation workshop scope and next steps.
Evidence of Completion
Copies of signed confirmation letters, emails, or MOUs from corporates uploaded into Catalyst report, with names of participating institutions and details of their intended involvement for the ideation workshop
Delivery Month
2
Cost
154000
Progress
20 %
Milestone Title
Milestone 2 – Problem Statements Defined
Milestone Outputs
Three detailed, validated problem statements developed and prioritized through workshops. Each statement will include context, business pain points, and alignment with corporate needs, as well as potential ideas/ solutions
Acceptance Criteria
At least 3 problem statements finalized with written or verbal support from corporates to further explore, showing both strategic fit and intent to continue into PoC scoping. 1 or more corporate interested to continue to scoping
Evidence of Completion
Submission of a detailed report to Catalyst containing the 3 prioritized problem statements, documentation of the workshops, and confirmation of alignment with specific corporates. Includes long list of other ideas coming from the workshop
Delivery Month
3
Cost
154000
Progress
40 %
Milestone Title
Milestone 3 – PoC Scoping Completed
Milestone Outputs
At least 1 corporate formally agreeing to proceed with PoC. A fully scoped PoC proposal will be delivered, including technical requirements, KPIs, timelines, and identified Cardano developers/builders to support the PoC development
Acceptance Criteria
Approval from both corporate partner and Cardano project team (developers/ builders/ projects) confirming that scope, deliverables, KPIs, and technical specifications are well defined and agreed upon for execution.
Evidence of Completion
Signed PoC scoping document endorsed by the corporate and Cardano projects, builders, developers with appended technical specs, KPIs, and project timelines. Catalyst upload of report for verification.
Delivery Month
4
Cost
154000
Progress
60 %
Milestone Title
Milestone 4 – PoC Development Started
Milestone Outputs
Launch of 1 PoC build with active collaboration between corporate and selected Cardano project, buiders, developers. Demonstrated progress through repos, testnet setup, and documentation of agile sprint activities.
Acceptance Criteria
Tangible evidence of PoC underway, including functioning repos, sprint plans, and logs. Clear indication of joint collaboration between corporate teams and selected Cardano project, builder, developer
Evidence of Completion
Catalyst submission of GitHub repos (or equivalent), progress documentation, sprint reports, and screenshots or logs showing workstreams, commits, and testnet progress.
from selected Cardano project, builder, developer
Delivery Month
5
Cost
154000
Progress
80 %
Milestone Title
Milestone 5 – PoC Completed & Scale-Up Recommendations
Milestone Outputs
One PoC successfully developed and tested on Cardano testnet/mainnet. Business case and scale-up recommendations delivered. Final project report and community documentation shared with Catalyst for future reference
Acceptance Criteria
Demonstrated PoC functionality validated by corporate partner and selected ardano teams working on the Poc. Business case endorsed by corporates. Catalyst reviewer approval of outcomes and close-out documentation.
Evidence of Completion
Final Catalyst submission including PoC technical report, business case analysis, scale-up plan, and Catalyst close-out report with uploaded documentation for community transparency for future reference
Delivery Month
6
Cost
154000
Progress
100 %
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
Total Requested: 770,000 ADA
Project Duration: 6 months
The budget is structured to balance program staffing, technical delivery, and operational support. It reflects a lean approach, with the majority allocated to people and PoC development, ensuring maximum impact for Cardano adoption.
Cost Breakdown by Category
People Costs (47% | 360,000 ADA)
PoC Technical Development (40% | 310,000 ADA)
Marketing & Communications (5% | 37,500 ADA)
Travel & Expenses (5% | 37,500 ADA)
Administration & Operations (3% | 25,000 ADA)
Budget by Milestone (aligned with Catalyst guidelines)
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
This project represents strong value for the Cardano ecosystem:
In summary: For 770K ADA, the Cardano ecosystem gains 1 Tier-1 corporate PoC, measurable adoption metrics, and a scalable enterprise adoption engine, a high-value, high-leverage use of Catalyst funds.
Terms and Conditions:
Yes
This project will be delivered by Antler Ibex, the corporate innovation and investment arm of Antler, the world’s most active early-stage VC. The team brings deep expertise in corporate engagement, venture building, and innovation delivery.
Core Roles
Supporting Roles
This blended team ensures both corporate access (via Antler Ibex) and technical execution (via Cardano builders), delivering high credibility and accountability.