[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Cardano AI-Startup Lab: Launch +20 testnet MVP by Students

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

58000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

6

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

South Vietnam (HCMC), the national startup hub, has zero Cardano academic-to-career infrastructure, leaving a vacuum filled by EVM rivals and blocking Cardano’s access to a top-5 global crypto market.

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

No

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

While we have strategic alignment with Nguyen Tat Thanh University (NTT) and PTIT for pilot venues, our project execution is not strictly dependent on their administrative approval.

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

Please provide details on the intellectual property (IP) status of your project outputs, including whether they will be released as open source or retained under another licence.

Content (Creative Commons BY 4.0): All 4 Course Kits (Syllabus, Slide Decks, Whiteboard Animations, and Assessment Banks) will be published on GitBook and YouTube. Code (MIT License): All technical outputs, including the "AI-Assisted" prompt libraries and student MVP boilerplates (Plutus/Aiken templates), will be hosted on public GitHub repositories.

[Theme Selection] Theme

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

Training

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Who you’re targeting, how you’ll reach them, and why this matters for Cardano?

University students and Faculty in Ho Chi Minh City (South Vietnam), specifically targeting the "Digital Economy" and "Fintech" cohorts.

• Primary Anchors: We have secured pilot access with Nguyen Tat Thanh University (NTT) (via Mr. Tung, Business Admin Dept) and Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) (via the Fintech Lab).
• Expansion Scope: Students from 20+ universities in the Hub Network ecosystem.

How we reach them:

• Attracting-funnel from student events: We stand on the stage and at the exit door of Hub Network's massive 2026 events (Unitours, Hackathons, Meetups) to capture the thousands of students and funnel them directly into our Lab.
• The Conversion (Visual & AI): We hook students through "Grandma-friendly" Whiteboard Animations (visual-first learning) - which we already done a lot for Cardano community in Whiteboard Cardano youtube channel, and AI-Assisted Workshops that show them how to build without fear.
• The Retention (Club Activities): We maintain engagement through weekly practical builds and peer-to-peer code reviews, keeping the vibe alive between major events.

Why this matter for Cardano?

• Capturing the 2026 Sandbox: Vietnam's new Decree 94/2025/ND-CP opens a Fintech Sandbox in 2026. If Cardano has no projects ready, we lose to EVM chains. Our Lab explicitly incubates student projects to be "Sandbox-Ready."
• Geographic Defense: Northern Vietnam has C2VN (Academic/Theory focus). Southern Vietnam (HCMC) is the Startup/Commercial engine, and currently, Cardano is invisible here. We fill this vacuum before competitors lock it down.

Provide a list of key activities of your project:

We focus on building the Club Engine and the Content Library:

1. Club Establishment Pilot Operations

• Initiate the Cardano AI-Startup Lab model in our core partner universities (NTT & PTIT)
• Train the student management team to run club independently (weekly builds, peer reviews) ensuring sustainability after the pilot.

2. Visual-First Content Production

• Produce high-quality Whiteboard Animations: that transform complex concepts into engaging visual (which can both supporting some part of the course offline, then enabling e-learning in the future)
• Open-Source Distribution: These assets will be made available for any lecturer or external club, team (whether it is student based like C2VN, or non-student based like FIMI) to reuse, maximizing ecosystem impact.

3. Integrated AI x Blockchain Training

Tiered Technical Training (AI & Expert-Led) We separate training into two distinct tracks to maximize output:

• Eco Track: AI-Assisted MVP (For Non-Techs): We teach business/finance students to utilize AI tools to fast-launch ideas and prototypes without needing deep coding knowledge.
• Dev Track: Advanced Engineering (For Techs): For complex DApps, AI is not enough. Our Advanced Development Team provides mentorship on architecture and security, ensuring students build robust, professional-grade solutions.

4. Ecosystem Funnel & Strategic Support

• Recruitment: Convert attendees from event including workshops, talkshows from partner's events like Hub Network into Club members. We will join as speaker and supporter to their events, also organize some mini-game, funnel lead activities to lead them
• Optional Faculty Support: We produce media materials that can adapt to official university courses. This serves as a "strategic hook," providing value to lecturers to maintain our long-term campus access.

What are your success metrics?

Output Metrics (What we ship - Public Goods)

• 4 Full Open-Source Course Kits (Syllabus, Slides, Assessments, AI Prompts) published on GitHub/GitBook.

• 20+ Whiteboard Animation Videos (Complex Cardano concepts -> Visual Stories, reusable by the community).

• 100% Milestone Delivery across 4 intensive course tracks in 6 months.

Ecosystem Adoption Metrics (The Cardano ROI - Verified Impact)

• 20+ Functional MVPs deployed to Cardano Testnet (verified via transaction hashes).

• 50+ Catalyst Voter Registrations from new student cohorts. (Governance impact)

• 85% Participant Satisfaction with the training quality (verified via post-course survey).

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Problem Context & Strategic Positioning

While Vietnam ranks #5 globally in crypto adoption, the educational landscape about Cardano is unbalanced and too slow to meet immediate market demands. We are not creating redundancy; we are filling specific structural gaps:

1. The Geographic Vacuum (South Vietnam)

• The Fact: Thanks to C2VN, the Cardano educational movement has successfully established in the North for at least 3 years through their contribution.
• The Pain: However, Ho Chi Minh City (South Vietnam) - the country's economic engine and startup capital - lacks a dedicated, structured Cardano education presense.
• Our Strategy: We step in with unique model, focusing on the dynamic startup culture of HCMC.

2. The "Speed" Gap vs The 2026 Sandbox

• The Lag: Few universities is develop blockchain curriculums but move slowly. Most official blockchain degrees are 2-3 years away.
• The Urgency: The Vietnamese government's Fintech Sandbox (Decree 94/2025/ND-CP) launches in 2026. The market needs builders now.
• Our Strategy: We shift the model from a "Classroom" to a "Pre-Incubator." We prioritize MVP Delivery over pure theory, running intensive 2-4 week sprints rather than long semesters, ensuring students graduate with a deployed project.

3. The Operational Pivot: We Don't Build, We Upgrade

• The Bottleneck: Universities have clubs, but they lack qualified lecturers.
• Our Strategy: We do not build "Hubs" to drag students away from their campus. We provide the "Club Engine" - a turnkey solution of content, AI tools, and mentors - to upgrade existing university clubs right on their own campuses.

The Core Solution: AI-Powered Blockchain Startup Labs

We are operating a "Pre-Incubator" inside the university. Our solution combines Expert-Led Technical Training with AI-Assisted Prototyping to ensure students graduate with both deep knowledge and a deployed portfolio.

A. The AI Engine & Expert Mentorship

The biggest blocker for students isn't a lack of ideas; it is the fear of execution - especially non-tech students.

• For the "Eco" Track (Business & Non-Tech Students):
  • The Barrier: They have ideas but cannot code or write technical specifications.
  • The AI Solution: We teach them to use ChatGPT/ Gemini/ Claude to generate detailed functional specifications and also learn the minimum required tech knowledge to build up their solution.
  • The Outcome: A business student can define a complete on-chain product logic ready for development, moving from "Idea" to "Product" in days, not months.
• For the "Dev" Track (Technical Students):
  • The Barrier: Technical students often get stuck on Product Design, UI/UX, and Market Fit, preventing their code from becoming a usable product.
  • The Expert Solution: We provide Experts (Cardano Devs) to mentor them on deep technical architecture, security, and smart contract logic-areas where AI is not enough.
  • The AI Solution: We utilize AI tools like Figma AI / Uizard for instant UI/UX generation to validate product-market fit.
  • The Outcome: Developers build robust, secure DApps that actually look good and solve real problems, without needing a dedicated designer.
• The Startup Formation (Cross-Pollination):
  • The Strategy: We do not keep these tracks isolated. Through our weekly activities, we connect Business with Technical students.
  • The Result: This forms complete, balanced startup teams (Business + Tech) solving the common failure point of "dev-only" or "idea-only" teams.

B. The Curriculum: "Startup Speed" Integrated with Academic

We do not remove the academic foundation; we upgrade its delivery method. We maintain the necessary fundamental courses about Blockchain and Cardano but deliver them in a way that retains retention.

• Visual-First Fundamentals: Instead of dry lectures, we utilize our Whiteboard Animation Library to explain complex blockchain concepts visually. This ensures students grasp the theory more 60% effectively as researchs.
• Project-Based Modules: For example:
  • Foundations: Academic modules on Distributed Ledger Technology & Consensus (delivered via Whiteboard visuals).
  • Action Modules: "Build your first DApp" workshops where students apply theory immediately.
  • Trend Integration: Case studies on Real World Assets (RWA) and DePIN, customized to Vietnam's market needs.

C. The "Passive Attraction" Protocol: Winning Faculty Support

We do not rely solely on Hub Network for access; we have our own strategy to make Universities come to us. We solve their biggest headache: The lack of qualified blockchain lecturers and materials.

• The "Turnkey" Strategy: We provide a complete "Boxed Solution" to lecturers, including:
  • Visual Syllabus: Explainer videos of courses we trained or new design for their students.
  • Assessment Bank: Ready-made quizzes and coding challenges from those courses.
  • Co-Delivery Model: Our experts handle the technical workshops while the lecturer maintains academic oversight (optional, if they want that)
• The University's Win: They get to test a high-demand course without hiring new staff or writing a curriculum from scratch.
• The Result: Lecturers adopt our club model because it makes them successful with zero extra work, creating a sustainable foothold in the university independent of external events.

Implementation Strategy: The "Funnel & Engine" Model

We do not rely on "hope" for recruitment, nor do we burn budget on cold marketing. We operate a highly efficient 3-Phase Execution Engine that converts external hype into internal builders.

Phase 1: The Input - The "Event-to-Club" Funnel (Leveraging Hub Network)

We position ourselves at the "exit door" of massive student events to capture talent immediately.

• The Source: We leverage Hub Network’s 20+ planned events for 2026 (Unitours, Hackathons, and Meetups) across Vietnam and Singapore
• The Mechanism (Active Conversion Funnel): instead of hunting for students one by one, we capture the overflow from these major events.
• The Conversion: Students inspired by a Hub event are immediately funneled into our Labs for the "Next Step" → converting "event tourists" into "long-term builders".

Phase 2: The Process - Hybrid "Pre-Incubation" Training

Once inside, we retain students by respecting their time. We replace boring lectures with high-impact build sessions.

• Visual Learning: Together with direct presentation from trainer/ educator students watch our Whiteboard Animations to understand complex concepts (eUTXO, Consensus) without the classroom boredom.
• Practical Builds:
  • Weekly Builds: Short, high-intensity sessions where students must ship a feature, solve problems, share solutions…
  • Peer Reviews: Tech students review Eco students' technical logic; Eco students review Tech students' market insight.
  • MVP Shipping: Teams use the AI stack to accelerate the "boring parts" so they can reach the MVP stage within the semester.

Phase 3: The Expansion - The "Honey Pot" for Faculty

This is our strategy for independence.

• The Pain: Lecturers are resource-constrained. They want to teach blockchain but lack the time to build slides, record videos, or design coding tests.
• The "Honey Pot" (Turnkey Courseware): We provide the "Club Engine" package (Syllabus + Whiteboard Videos + Assessment Bank) for free.
• The Strategic Win:
  • Lecturers adopt our club model because it solves their content shortage.
  • We get access to the university's official credit system and facility support without friction.
  • This ensures the club survives even if student leaders graduate, as it is anchored by faculty reliance on our assets.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

1. Capturing a Top-5 Global Crypto Market (Commercial Penetration)

• The Opportunity: Vietnam is #5 globally in adoption, but South Vietnam (HCMC) is dominated by EVM chains because they "shout louder" in universities.

• The Cardano Benefit: We secure the HCMC "Silicon Valley" talent pool now!

• Practical Example: Instead of a student launching their Logistics Startup on Polygon because it's "easy," they launch on Cardano because our Lab help them build on Plutus/Aiken easily, effortlessly.

2. Positioning Cardano for National Infrastructure (2026 Sandbox)

• The Strategy: Vietnam’s Decree 94/2025/ND-CP opens a Fintech Sandbox in 2026. The government needs working pilots, not whitepapers.

• The Cardano Benefit: We act as the "MVP Factory." Our AI-assisted labs churn out compliant, regulation-ready prototypes that make Cardano a serious contender for national pilots.

• Practical Example: A "Finance" student (non-coder) uses our AI workflow to build a compliant RWA (Real World Asset) Tokenization Demo for Vietnamese real estate. This project enters the 2026 Sandbox, putting Cardano tech directly in front of regulators.

3. Maximizing ROI on Existing Ecosystem Spend (The Conversion Engine)

• The Problem: At the current, the ecosystem spends thousands on events that generate hype but <1% on-chain retention.

• The Cardano Benefit: We act as the "Net." We trap that traffic and force it through an 2→8-week build funnel, increasing the Cost-Per-Acquisition efficiency of every marketing dollar spent in the region.

• Practical Example: 500 students attend a Hub Network Hackathon. Usually, 490 leave. With us, 50 of them join the weekly Lab. By Week 4, they have active wallets, are staking, and are deploying smart contracts on testnet. Few months later, some can be on mainnet to serve the community.

4. Creating a "Zero-Cost" Perpetual User Pipeline

• The Mechanism: We embed our "Turnkey" curriculum into official university credits at partners like NTT & PTIT.

• The Cardano Benefit: Once integrated, the university pays the lecturer to teach Cardano. The ecosystem gets new users for free, forever.

• Practical Example: Lecturer A at NTT University adopts our course. Every semester, they teach 100 new students how to transact on Cardano. Over 5 years, that is 1,000 educated users onboarded at zero recurring cost to the Catalyst Treasury.

5. Exportable IP for Global Adoption

• The Asset: We release our "Visual Whiteboard Library" + "AI-Workflow Curriculum" Open Source.

• The Cardano Benefit: A replicable "Boxed Solution" for any non-English speaking region.

• Practical Example: A Community Hub in LATAM or Nigeria downloads our "AI-Startup Lab" kit. They skip 6 months of curriculum design and start training local developers next week, using our proven model.

Quantifiable Success Metrics (KPIs)

Output Metrics (What we ship):

• 20+ Whiteboard Animation Videos (Complex Cardano concepts -> Visual Stories).

• 10 Full Open-Source Curriculum (AI-Assisted Blockchain Development).

Adoption Metrics (The Cardano ROI):

• 100+ New Active Wallets (Staking/Voting/Transacting) - verified on-chain.

• 15+ Functional MVPs deployed to Cardano Testnet/Mainnet (Sandbox-ready).

• 20+ Catalyst Voter Registrations from new student cohorts.

• 5+ University Lecturers officially integrating Cardano courseware into their syllabus.

[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?

1. The "Iron Triangle" of Trust

This proposal succeeds because it leverages three pillars of power that no other student club can claim: Government-Grade Trust, Institutional Investment, and Ecosystem Unity.

A. GOVERNMENT-TIER TRUST (Hub Network & NDA)

• The Power: The project is led by Hub Network, an entity backed by the National Data Association (NDA) - an official national organization launched in March 2025.
• The Advantage: Hub Network operates under this national umbrella, we are held to government-level standards of accountability, commitment, and trust. We are not a loose group of students who might disappear with funds. And the fact, all activities from Hub Network already planned and running. This ensures absolute project safety and delivery.

B. INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENT (Infrastructure & Resources)

• The Power: We are plugging into Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) - a Top 5 Tech University in Vietnam.
• The Investment: PTIT (the university itself) is heavily investing in the "Eduverse" project. Their Fintech Lab is our direct partner in this initiative.
• The Advantage: Even without a signed MOU yet, PTIT has already opened the door. They have allowed us to run demo courses for their students and are engaging in talks to build their official blockchain course. Most importantly, they are ready to provide physical lab space for this project and others from Cardano community.
  • Feasibility Check: We have removed the single biggest cost and risk factor (Venue) because the university wants this to happen.

C. ECOSYSTEM UNITY (4+ Years of Expertise)

• The Power: This is not a one-man show. It is a coalition.
• The Veterans: Our educational core - Alfred Pham, Yao (Whiteboard Cardano), and Mr. Tung (VNEconomics) - have >4 years of continuous contribution to the Cardano ecosystem.
• The Network: Beyond us, other major Cardano companies and projects in Vietnam are ready to support with guest speakers, case studies, and mentorship. This is a "Whole of Ecosystem" effort.

2. Operational Model: Separation of Concerns

We avoid burnout by separating "Growth" from "Product."

• The Engine (Product & Quality): Whiteboard Cardano
  • Lead: Alfred Pham (8+ years in media)
  • Role: We control the quality of the education. We use our AI-Assisted experiences and Visual Storytelling (Whiteboard Cardano) to ensure complex tech is "Grandma-friendly."
  • Output: Delivering 6 Full Intensive Courses over the pilot period.
• The Fuel (Distribution & Recruitment): Hub Network
  • Lead: Mr. Chinh Van (Leon) (Head of Growth, Hub Network).
  • Role: Hub Network runs the macro-events. They will deliver 20+ Workshops, Meetups, and Talkshows in 2026.
  • Output: We do not pay for these 20 events; we simply stand at the door and catch the students. This funnel guarantees our 6 courses are always full of high-quality candidates.

3. Strategic Anchors

• North Vietnam (Hanoi): Anchored at PTIT via PhD Nguyen Manh Dung. Access to the Fintech students & Lab.
• South Vietnam (HCMC): Anchored at Nguyen Tat Thanh University (NTT) via Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung. Initiating with existing Digital Economy cohorts.

4. The "Stickiness": Why Students Stay

Students often drop out of free courses when the novelty fades. We solve retention by shifting the incentive from "Learning" to "Founding."

• Culture over Classroom: Students do not stay for homework; they stay for the Startup Culture. We position the club as a pre-incubator, not a study hall.
• The "Co-Founder" Matching Engine:
  • By deliberately mixing Business (Eco) and Engineering (Dev) students in peer reviews and weekly builds, we simulate a real startup environment.
  • Tech students get business logic; Business students get technical reality checks.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Launch & Immediate Execution

Milestone Outputs

• Asset Release (Course 1 & 2): Publish the full "Turnkey Kits" (Syllabus, Slides, AI Prompts, Whiteboard Videos) for course relate to Automated Economic Agreements, Blockchain & Market Transparency

• Training (Month 1): Conduct Cohort 1 (Eco Track) and Cohort 2 (Tech Track) using Course 1.

• Training (Month 2): Conduct Cohort 3 (Eco Track) and Cohort 4 (Tech Track) using Course 2.

• Side Activities: Host 4 Peer Review/AMA sessions (1 every 2 weeks).

• Media: Produce 2 Monthly Recap Reports (Video + Photos).

Acceptance Criteria

• Turnkey Kits for Courses 1 & 2 are public on GitHub/GitBook of the project and brand

• 4 Cohorts completed (~80 students total) with attendance logs.

• At least 7 Student MVPs deployed to Cardano Testnet

Evidence of Completion

• Public GitBook Links for Course 1 & 2.

• Photos/Videos of 4 Cohorts in session.

• List of 7+ Student Testnet Transaction Hashes.

• Links to 2 Monthly Recap Reports.

Delivery Month

2

Cost

24600

Progress

40 %

Milestone Title

Scaling & Behavioral Economics

Milestone Outputs

• Asset Creation (Course 3): Finalize and publish Course 3 relates to token Incentives & Behavioral Economics.

• Training (Month 3): Conduct Cohort 5 (Eco) and Cohort 6 (Tech) using Course 3.

• Training (Month 4): Conduct Cohort 7 (Eco) and Cohort 8 (Tech) (Rolling intake of Course 1/2).

• Mentorship: Tech Mentors provide 32 hours of code review for student builds.

• Side Activities: Host 4 Peer Review/AMA sessions.

• Media: Produce 2 Monthly Recap Reports.

Acceptance Criteria

• Turnkey Kit for Course 3 is public on GitHub/GitBook of the project and our brand

• 4 Cohorts completed (~80 students total) with attendance logs.

• At least 7 New Student MVPs deployed to Testnet.

Evidence of Completion

• Public GitBook Link for Course 3.

• Photos/Videos of 4 Cohorts.

• List of 7+ New Student Testnet Transaction Hashes.

Delivery Month

4

Cost

16700

Progress

70 %

Milestone Title

Supply Chain & Project Close

Milestone Outputs

• Asset Creation (Course 4): Finalize and publish Course 4 relate to Logistics / Supply Chain Track.

• Training (Month 5): Conduct Cohort 9 (Eco) and Cohort 10 (Tech) using Course 4.

• Training (Month 6): Conduct Cohort 11 & 12 (Final Sprints / Demo Day prep).

• Project Close-out: Final Report, Close-out Video, and "Class of 2026" Project Showcase.

• Certification: Issue On-Chain Certificates (NFT/DID) to all graduates.

Acceptance Criteria

• Turnkey Kit for Course 4 is public on GitHub/GitBook.

• 4 Cohorts completed (~80 students total).

• Student Project Showcase: A curated list of 20+ total MVPs

• Final Report & Video submitted to Catalyst.

Evidence of Completion

• Public GitBook Link for Course 4.

• Link to "Class of 2026" Project Showcase (GitHub/Website).

• Transaction hashes for Student Certificates.

• Final Close-out Video and Report.

Delivery Month

6

Cost

16700

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Total Request: 58,000 ADA

A. Requested Budget Breakdown (What we ask for)

1. The "Club Engine" Assets

**(Permanent IP) Turnkey Course Kits (4 Courses) **

32,000 ADA _(8,000 per course) _

We are creating 4 complete educational products (Syllabus, Slides, Workbooks, and Whiteboard Videos). This fee covers the scripting, design, and production of these assets. Once built, these are permanent, open-source tools that allow the club to run indefinitely without paid speakers. This is a one-time "factory build" cost.

2. Education Delivery

**(Human Capital) Lead Trainer **

9,000 ADA (1,500/mo x 6)

This pays for a qualified expert to physically (or hybrid) teach 12 intensive cohorts over 6 months. This includes lecture time, grading assignments, and managing the classroom dynamic. It averages to just 750 ADA per cohort, which is highly efficient.

Tech Mentor

**9,600 ADA **_(100/hr x 96 hrs) _

Dedicated technical support for the "Dev Track." Capped at 4 hours/week. This ensures students get high-level code reviews and debugging help for their MVPs, preventing them from getting stuck and quitting.

3. Operations & Media

**(Project Mgmt) Project Coordinator **

**4,800 ADA **_(800/mo x 6)_

A lean operational fee to manage University relations (booking rooms, aligning with Faculty), scheduling cohorts, and handling all Catalyst Reporting requirements.

**Monthly Media Report **

**1,800 ADA **_(300/mo x 6)_

Production of 1 high-quality Monthly Recap video + photo documentation. This is strictly for Proof of Achievement reporting to the community, ensuring transparency.

4. Contingency Risk Buffer 800 ADA

(~1.4%) A small buffer for ADA volatility or minor unforeseen costs.

TOTAL 58,000 ADA

B. In-Kind & Free Contributions (What we bring for FREE)

We are not asking the Treasury to pay for these items. These are leveraged from our partners and existing ecosystem resources.

Venues

Physical Labs & Event Spaces - Hub Network & Universities

We utilize the empty classrooms and labs of our partner universities (NTT, PTIT) and Hub Network's event spaces. We do not pay rent.

Software

AI Tooling Stack - Free Education Tiers

Students utilize Gemini (Free), Figma (Education), and GitHub Student Developer Pack (Copilot). We teach them to use the free tools available to them.

Operations

Student Ops Team - Volunteers

Daily tasks (attendance, Discord moderation) are handled by student leaders incentivized by career certificates, not cash.

Marketing

Recruitment Funnel - Hub Network Events

We do not pay for ads. We recruit directly from events Hub Network is already funded to run.

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

Our proposal delivers high-impact, verifiable ROI by prioritizing "High-Touch" mentorship over mass adoption fluff. We are building a scalable educational engine for Vietnam's top universities with a focus on Testnet Deliverables.

1. Focused Efficiency (Quality over Quantity)

• Cost Per Student: With 12 cohorts capped at 20 students each (240 total), our cost-per-student is ~241 ADA

  • Comparison: Private blockchain bootcamps in Vietnam charge $300-$800 per student for similar intensive training. We deliver superior "AI-Assisted" training for <30% of the market rate because we leverage open-source curricula and volunteer operations.

• Cost Per On-Chain Project: We target 20+ Functional MVPs deployed on Testnet (5 per Course Track). This equals ~2,900 ADA per Verified MVP.

  • Comparison: A typical hackathon spends $5,000-$10,000 per team just to get slide decks. We are generating functional, auditable code on Testnet for a fraction of that cost.

2. The "Hidden" Co-Investment (Leverage)

We are asking for 58,000 ADA, but the Total Project Value is ~85,000 ADA. The Catalyst Community gets >30% discount because our partners absorb infrastructure costs:

• Venue Sponsorship (~12,000 ADA Value): Provided in-kind by Hub Network and Partner Universities (NTT & PTIT). We pay 0 ADA for rent.

• Operational Support (~10,000 ADA Value): Daily club management is handled by student volunteers incentivized by career certificates, not treasury funds.

3. Permanent Asset Creation (The "Club Engine") 55% of the budget (32,000 ADA) is invested in Permanent IP: the "Turnkey Course Kits" and Whiteboard Animation Library.

• Unlike event sponsorships where money is "spent and gone," this is a capital investment. Once these 4 Course Kits are built and hosted on GitHub/GitBook, they cost 0 ADA to reuse.

• Any university, educational team in Vietnam (or globally) can fork our repository and launch their own club next year without asking Catalyst for funding.

4. Strategic Market Timing (Why Vietnam? Why Now?)

• #1 Opportunity: Vietnam ranks #5 globally in crypto adoption (Chainalysis 2024), yet Cardano lags behind EVM chains in university presence in the South - most active city.

• 2026 Sandbox Readiness: The Vietnamese government is launching its Fintech Sandbox in 2026. By training students now on Course 2 (Market Transparency) and Course 4 (Supply Chain), we are preparing the exact workforce and use-cases eligible for this national sandbox, positioning Cardano as a government-friendly utility layer.

[Self-Assessment] Self-Assessment Checklist

I confirm that the proposal is a non-technical initiative, with ≤20% of the budget for tech support.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal provides verifiable evidence (portfolio, links, reports) of the team's ability to deliver the project.

Yes

I confirm that the proposer and all team members are in good standing with prior Catalyst projects.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes clear objectives with both Output Metrics (what proposal did) and Adoption-Focused Metrics (what effect proposal had).

Yes

I confirm that the proposal clearly explains the user journey and provides a credible plan for how the project will equip and motivate users for future on-chain activity.

Yes

I confirm that the initiative clearly demonstrates how it will grow the Cardano ecosystem or onboard users.

Yes

I confirm that the project plan and timeline (≤ 12 months) are realistic and well-defined.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal commits to public outputs and justifies any exceptions.

Yes

I confirm that the budget adheres to all policies: it is for future work, follows the merchandise rule, and excludes establishing local treasuries, incentives/giveaways, re-grants.

Yes

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

I Agree

Yes