Last updated 3 months ago
While the majority of African youth pursue skills-based TVET education, most Cardano initiatives target universities, leaving these practical learners without access to blockchain tools and benefits.
Cardano TVET AI Hub: education initiative with workshops, train-the-trainer, that teaches wallet creation, staking, voting, and scam detection.
Please provide your proposal title
Cardano TVET AI Hub: 100+ Wallets & On-Chain Badges
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
60000
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last
8
Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated
No
Original Language
en
What is the problem you want to solve?
While the majority of African youth pursue skills-based TVET education, most Cardano initiatives target universities, leaving these practical learners without access to blockchain tools and benefits.
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
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.
MIT License
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?
Target Audience: Africa TVET students with high potential
Reach & Engagement Channels:
Campus Online workshops at 5+ TVET colleges
Telegram groups for community building
Social media campaigns
Purpose / Why It Matters
Drives global onboarding in emerging markets
Boosts on-chain activity:
Wallet creation
Staking participation
Voting engagement
Provide a list of key activities of your project:
1, Student Selection Process Development
Activity: Design a localized curriculum and implement an ethical AI-driven selection process to assess student potential.
Rationale: Ensures accessibility and relevance for African TVET students while objectively identifying high-potential participants using transparent, fair AI criteria.
Activity: Organize interactive Online workshops on 5+ campuses featuring live demonstrations.
Rationale: Engages students hands-on, builds excitement, and provides practical exposure to AI applications, fostering understanding and adoption.
Activity: Train educators to identify and nurture student potential, equipping them to support ongoing student engagement.
Rationale: Creates a sustainable model for student development, amplifying reach through trained educators who can continue mentorship beyond initial events.
Activity: Collect continuous feedback from students, educators, and stakeholders through the Catalyst Forum.
Rationale: Facilitates iterative improvement of curriculum, events, and selection processes while promoting transparency, accountability, and community-driven decision-making.
What are your success metrics?
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
Proposed Solution:
The Cardano TVET AI Hub is a non-technical education program designed to equip African TVET students with practical Cardano skills while promoting ethical AI practices. Students are selected using AI-assisted assessments that evaluate motivation and skills, ensuring high-potential learners are chosen fairly and inclusively. The program delivers localized workshops on wallets, staking, and voting, complemented by a train-the-trainer program to empower educators and sustain impact. Community events across 5+ TVET colleges provide hands-on exposure, and a monthly feedback forum enables continuous improvement.
How it Addresses the Problem:
This solution tackles the challenge of limited access to blockchain education in underserved African communities by providing inclusive, ethical, and practical learning. Selecting high-potential students maximizes impact, reduces risks like scams, and encourages active participation in Cardano’s ecosystem, fostering skills that translate into real-world blockchain applications.
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
The project will safely onboard 100+ African users while enhancing the selected students’ potential to contribute meaningfully to the Cardano ecosystem. By implementing ethical AI-driven selection, it positions Cardano as a leader in responsible, fair talent identification in emerging markets. Additionally, the program creates reusable curricula and materials that can be scaled globally, amplifying Cardano’s reach, engagement, and reputation for ethical innovation.
What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?
The project team is designed to balance complementary skills and maximize effectiveness. Emrakeb Ermias - https://www.linkedin.com/in/emrakeb-ermias-61375721b/serves as Project Lead and AI Ethics Specialist, overseeing curriculum development, student selection, and community engagement. She ensures that ethical AI principles are applied throughout the program, coordinates workshops, and manages stakeholder communication. Dawit Badeg - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawit-melka/?originalSubdomain=etserves as Technical and Blockchain Lead, responsible for implementing Cardano-related tools, delivering hands-on workshops, and supporting the AI-driven student selection system. Together, they combine expertise in ethical AI, education, and blockchain technology, creating a strong foundation for the program.
Milestone Title
Curriculum and Pilot Workshop
Milestone Outputs
Acceptance Criteria
Curriculum Completeness: All learning materials for the workshops are fully developed, covering key Cardano concepts such as wallets, staking, voting, and ethical AI fundamentals. Materials are accessible, localized, and suitable for African TVET students.
Data Collection Accuracy: Student baseline data is collected systematically, including prior knowledge, learning preferences, and engagement metrics, to ensure curriculum relevance.
**Ethical AI Selection Implementation: **AI-driven student selection criteria are fully operational, incorporating motivation surveys, skills assessments, and safeguards against bias. Selection results must be transparent and reproducible.
First Event Execution: The inaugural workshop is successfully conducted with at least 50 confirmed attendees, with smooth logistics, active participation, and practical demonstrations of Cardano tools.
Participant Engagement: Students demonstrate understanding and interaction during the workshop through questions, exercises, or hands-on activities.
Feedback Collection: Structured feedback is gathered from all participants via online forms or surveys, including qualitative and quantitative responses about curriculum, clarity, and engagement.
Analysis and Actionable Insights: Feedback reports are analyzed and documented, with clear recommendations for refining future workshops.
Sustainability Measures: Train-the-trainer components are delivered as planned, ensuring educators are prepared to support students in future events.
Reporting: All milestone outputs are documented and shared with the project team and stakeholders.
Evidence of Completion
1, We will collect workshop Attendance sheets,
2, We will collect survey results,
3, We will submit GitHub upload.
Delivery Month
2
Cost
15000
Progress
20 %
Milestone Title
5+ Community Events
Milestone Outputs
This milestone involves creating all the learning content for the workshops and gathering information about the students. The goal is to ensure that the materials are relevant, easy to understand, and tailored to African TVET students. Collecting data about students’ existing knowledge, skills, and interests helps customize the program for maximum learning impact.
Here, the focus is on designing a fair and transparent way to select students using AI. The criteria consider motivation, skills, and potential, while preventing bias. This ensures that the students most likely to benefit from the program are chosen, which increases the effectiveness of the workshops and encourages meaningful contributions to the Cardano ecosystem.
This milestone is about organizing the first workshop. It’s a practical, hands-on session where 50 students get introduced to blockchain tools like wallets, staking, and voting. It also sets the tone for future events and demonstrates how the program will work on the ground.
After the workshop, structured feedback is gathered from participants to understand what worked, what didn’t, and how the program can be improved. This step ensures continuous improvement and helps make the next workshops even more effective.
Acceptance Criteria
Evidence of Completion
We will provide evidence of progress through photos, reports, and documentation of activities and outcomes.
Delivery Month
4
Cost
18000
Progress
50 %
Milestone Title
Train-the-Trainer + Feedback Loops
Milestone Outputs
1, We will have 20 educators trained on the student selection and potential building,
2, We will have Forum posts and
3, Report on-chain metrics write a report to submit by the end of the milestone.
Acceptance Criteria
1, Successfully train 20+ educators through the program 2, Collect a minimum of 10+ detailed, actionable. comments from participants through the workshop and seminar to assess engagement and feedback.
Evidence of Completion
We will be giving them Training certificates, and also we will report once the milestone is complete.
Delivery Month
6
Cost
15000
Progress
80 %
Milestone Title
Sustainability & Final Evaluation
Milestone Outputs
1, We will be making a reusable kit release which will including marketing-like student selection tools,
2, We will submit a full report,
3, We will have 100+ wallets verified and reported once the project is complete.
Acceptance Criteria
We will prepare a comprehensive report documenting all milestone achievements, including KPIs met, such as number of students trained, events conducted, feedback collected, and engagement metrics analyzed.
Evidence of Completion
We will publish final deliverables: GitHub release and comprehensive PDF report of project outcomes.
Delivery Month
8
Cost
12000
Progress
100 %
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
Content creation (slides, exercises, modules)
Data collection tools, surveys, analytics
AI tool setup, testing, and data processing
Ensuring bias mitigation and transparency
Venue and logistics across 10 colleges
Equipment (laptops, projector, Wi-Fi, demo tools)
Training materials, handouts, and refreshments
Trainer fees and honorarium
Materials and resources for educators
Online platform setup and maintenance
Promotional materials (social media, posters)
Feedback collection and analysis
Final reports, documentation, and lessons learned
Unexpected costs and adjustments
Total: 60,000 ADA
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
Our program delivers high impact at a low cost per participant. For 60,000 ADA, we will: onboard 100+ high-potential African TVET students, train 20 educators, run 5+ community workshops, and generate reusable curricula and materials for global scaling. Each ADA invested contributes to measurable outcomes hands-on blockchain experience, ethical AI adoption, and active Cardano ecosystem participation while minimizing overhead and maximizing sustainability. By leveraging ethical AI for student selection, we ensure the right participants benefit most, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of every dollar/ADA spent. The program also creates long-term value by equipping educators and communities to continue training, ensuring impact beyond the immediate funding cycle.
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
I Agree
Yes
1, Emrakeb Ermias – Project Lead & AI Ethics Specialist
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/emrakeb-ermias-61375721b/
Roles & Responsibilities: Oversees project strategy, curriculum development, and ensures ethical AI is applied in student selection. Leads engagement with stakeholders and coordinates workshops.
Dawit Badeg – Technical & Blockchain Lead
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawit-melka/?originalSubdomain=et
Roles & Responsibilities: Responsible for blockchain implementation, workshop demos, technical guidance, and ensuring hands-on Cardano activities run smoothly. Supports AI tool integration for student selection.