DigiFarm & UNCDF: Last-Mile Financial Inclusion in Africa

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

DigiFarm & UNCDF: Last-Mile Financial Inclusion in Africa

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

750000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

12

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

Tanzania has 5.8M smallholder farmers, less than 5% use digital agriculture tools. No unified land or farmer registry exists, leaving millions invisible to finance, services and government support.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://nfts.digifarm.io/
,
• https://digifarm.io/
,
• https://digifarm.io/blog/digifarm-and-cardano-360-revolutionizing-agriculture-with-blockchain-powered-smart-fields-in-kenya
,
• https://mm4p.uncdf.org/local/tanzania

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

Yes

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

This project depends on formal collaboration with UNCDF as the Tier-1 partner, including access to their local networks, farmer groups, and D4DAT programme stakeholders in Tanzania. It also depends on coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture’s digital agriculture teams for data alignment. No technical dependency blocks delivery; Cardano infrastructure, DigiFarm’s mapping system, and UNCDF’s field partners are all already operational.

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

No

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.

This project uses a hybrid IP model. All registry interfaces, APIs, metadata schemas and integration guides developed under this proposal will be open source for public use. DigiFarm’s proprietary geospatial models and licensed satellite datasets will remain closed due to commercial and data-licensing constraints, but they are not required for using the open-source components.

[Theme Selection] Theme

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

Financial Services

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Describe your established collaborations.

DigiFarm’s proposal is built on a foundation of long-term collaborations with both global development institutions and leading technical partners in the Cardano ecosystem. These partnerships demonstrate the maturity, credibility, and operational readiness required for the Tier-1 Enterprise Integration category in Fund 15.

1. Primary Tier-1 Partner — UNCDF (United Nations Capital Development Fund)

DigiFarm has an established working relationship with UNCDF Tanzania and UNCDF Uganda, specifically with their Digital Finance and Inclusive Digital Economies divisions. UNCDF is globally recognised as a Tier-1 development institution with national mandates, regulatory access, and deep integration with rural finance ecosystems across 47 Least Developed Countries.

UNCDF’s ongoing work in Tanzania aligns exceptionally well with the goals of this proposal:

a. Collaboration through D4DAT: Data for Digital Agricultural Transformation (Tanzania)

UNCDF is co-leading the D4DAT programme with the Government of Tanzania, FAO, IFAD and other UN partners.

This national programme aims to:

• Build a unified digital farmer registry across 13 fragmented MoA databases

• Digitise up to 500,000 smallholder farmers, including 300,000 women and 100,000 youth

• Train 500 agricultural extension officers

• Establish shared data standards for field, farmer, crop and market information

• Modernise agricultural finance targeting and monitoring

Our previous collaboration with UNCDF included reviewing how DigiFarm’s satellite-derived field boundaries, crop history, biomass and sustainability indicators can support the D4DAT architecture — specifically the “Digital Agriculture Registry Layer” and the “Digital Financial Rail Layer.”

b. Collaboration through the Kigoma Joint Programme

UNCDF’s Kigoma Joint Programme (KJP) works with local MFIs, cooperatives and digital platforms to deliver:

•	Financial inclusion solutions to 15,000+ farmers

•	Digital savings, input credit and community finance schemes

•	Partnerships with DMA for digital farmer registration (over 6,600 digitally profiled farmers already)

•	Ag-finance pilots that require stronger farmer/field data to improve underwriting and service delivery

DigiFarm’s team has reviewed UNCDF’s digital farmer onboarding flows, digital savings mechanisms and input credit programmes, and provided technical insights on how field-level geospatial evidence can strengthen risk models for these smallholder finance schemes.

c. Joint proposal development and knowledge-sharing

Prior to this Fund 15 submission, DigiFarm and UNCDF co-developed concept notes and technical frameworks exploring:

•	Digital land & farmer registries

•	Geospatial risk scoring for smallholder loans

•	Digitised crop insurance

•	Digital subsidy targeting

•	Climate-smart agriculture financing

These documents were part of a joint submission to global donors (e.g., Gates Foundation concept note from 2021), and the foundational logic remains relevant: UNCDF brings the on-the-ground networks and finance ecosystem access, while DigiFarm brings the technical and geospatial innovation.

UNCDF has expressed willingness to collaborate on a joint pilot in Tanzania, and a Letter of Intent will be submitted to Catalyst before the Community Review phase (as required for Tier-1 eligibility).

UNCDF meets all Tier-1 criteria:

• International development institution
• Massive operational scale (above 5M annual programmes)
• Direct government collaboration
• Multi-year presence in Tanzania
• Ability to integrate and scale Cardano-backed solutions nationally

1. Technical API Partners — Cardano Ecosystem Partners

NMKR (Cardano NFT). DigiFarm has an established, multi-year collaboration with NMKR, the largest NFT/RWA infrastructure provider on Cardano (2M+ NFTs minted). NMKR has partnered with DigiFarm across multiple Catalyst-funded projects (Funds 12 and 13) to:

•	Mint FieldNFTs representing agricultural fields

•	Standardise CIP-25 metadata schema

•	Build tokenisation templates for agricultural assets

•	Integrate with DigiFarm’s web-based mapping platform

•	Provide infrastructure for large-scale minting and indexing

NMKR’s infrastructure will be used in this Tier-1 pilot to provide API delivery to tokenize Tanzanian field parcels or store hashed field geometry metadata on Cardano. This provides the technical backbone for the land/field component of the registry.

1. Agribusiness and Development Collaborations

Syngenta India Foundation (Fund 13 Partner)

DigiFarm partnered with Syngenta India Foundation to build one of the first satellite-backed agricultural credit pilots on Cardano:

•	Field-level performance metrics

•	Crop history and vegetative signatures

•	Credit risk scoring

•	FieldNFT pilot deployments

This collaboration proves DigiFarm’s ability to deliver production-grade agricultural data integrations for enterprises and development institutions.

Farmer Cooperatives and Local Institutions

Across East Africa, DigiFarm has worked with cooperatives, agrodealers and extension services in:

•	Kenya

•	Tanzania

•	Uganda

These collaborations ensure that digital agricultural records and land registries are not built in isolation but align with real producer organisations, lending partners and rural institutions.

Summary

Across UNCDF, NMKR, Aiquant, Syngenta and regional partners, DigiFarm brings a full-stack collaboration ecosystem that spans:

•	UN agencies

•	Financial inclusion networks

•	Government programmes

•	National cooperatives

•	Global agribusiness

•	Cardano technical leaders

This collaboration network ensures the project is credible, scalable, and fully aligned with the Tier-1 Enterprise Integration category for Fund 15.

Describe funding commitments.

This project is primarily funded through the requested Catalyst grant. DigiFarm and UNCDF will each provide substantial in-kind contributions that significantly reduce the cost of delivery and improve the likelihood of success.

DigiFarm will contribute internal development capacity, agronomic expertise, satellite-derived datasets, geospatial processing infrastructure, and local field-level technical staff. These resources represent a non-cash contribution equivalent to several thousand hours of engineering, data processing and field coordination time.

UNCDF will contribute in-kind resources through its existing programmes in Tanzania, including access to farmer networks, financial inclusion partners, digital onboarding pipelines, field agents, and D4DAT programme infrastructure. UNCDF will also provide staff time for programme alignment, field deployment, stakeholder engagement, and collaboration with government partners.

No other external cash contributions are being requested outside of Catalyst. All Catalyst funding will be used exclusively for new, forward-looking development activities, in alignment with Catalyst Fund 15 rules. No retroactive work, incentives, or marketing expenses are included.

These combined funding commitments demonstrate a strong foundation of shared responsibility and resource mobilisation between DigiFarm, UNCDF and the Cardano ecosystem.

Describe your key performance metrics.

Our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure adoption, scale, institutional integration, and on-chain activity.

They are aligned with UNCDF’s national programmes in Tanzania (D4DAT, KJP) and with Cardano’s goal of powering real-world financial and identity infrastructure.

1. Farmer and Land Digitisation KPIs (National Agriculture Registry Layer)

These KPIs measure the core output: field and farmer registration.

• 50,000–100,000 farmers digitally profiled in pilot regions (Dodoma + Kigoma), aligned with UNCDF D4DAT.
• 200,000–500,000 hectares of farmland mapped, delineated, and registered.
• 50,000+ FieldNFTs / on-chain field records created using Cardano (CIP-25/CIP-68 compliant).
• 80% data completeness across registered fields (boundaries, crops, seasons, geolocation, ownership/tenancy).

Why this matters:

Tanzania has 5.8M smallholder farmers and digital penetration. Digitising even 50k–100k unlocks visibility for financial inclusion, climate resilience, and national food system planning.

1. Farmer Economic Impact KPIs (Credit + Input + Yield + Liquidity)

These KPIs measure how field registration and digital identity translate into real economic benefit.

• 5,000–10,000 farmers receiving credit or input financing from UNCDF-linked financial institutions.
• 20–30% reduction in loan approval time, enabled by field verification + digital profiling.
• 10–20% reduction in credit interest rates for digitally verified farmers (based on UNCDF/DMA experience).
• 10–25% yield increase for farmers receiving digital input loans, based on regional pilots (AgroMall Nigeria + UNCDF Tanzania casework).
• Up to 50% reduction in input procurement costs for digitally organised farmer groups.30–60% increase in liquidity among participating farmers (household-level financial flows).• 6–12% increase in farmgate U
• enue through improved market access and reduced intermediation.

Why this matters:

Digitally profiled farmers with geospatial evidence historically gain access to cheaper, more reliable credit and increase yields through timely input access. This forms the foundation of poverty reduction and agricultural transformation

1. Institutional Adoption KPIs (UNCDF + Banks + MFIs + Input Providers)

These KPIs demonstrate systemic value for the ecosystem.

• 5–10 financial institutions onboarded (MFIs, banks, savings schemes).
• 3–5 agribusiness/offtaker integrations (input suppliers, buyers).
• 2 government departments engaged (MoA digital unit, local extension offices).
• 500 extension officers trained (aligned with D4DAT programme)
• and 20,000 extension officer interactions with the registry (field updates, verification, crop monitoring).

Why this matters:

Institutional integration is what elevates the registry from a demo to a real national asset.

1. On-Chain Activity KPIs (Cardano Integration Metrics)

Catalyst Fund 15 evaluates Tier-1 proposals partly on measurable on-chain activity.

• 5,000–10,000 FieldNFTs / RWA tokens minted on Cardano for pilot fields.
• 50,000–100,000 fields registered off-chain with periodic batch hashes anchored on-chain for integrity.
• We aim for up to 10,000–25,000 on-chain registry and financial events (mints, updates, verification calls, loan/insurance logs).
• 2–5 institutional wallets integrated (UNCDF, MoA, MFIs).
• Open APIs / registry endpoints generating 1m requests.

Why this matters:

This establishes Cardano as the backbone for a national digital agriculture registry—massive real-world usage.

1. Climate andFood Security KPIs (Government and UNCDF Metrics)

These are critical for Tier-1 institutional adoption:

• Field-level vegetation, drought-risk, and biomass indicators generated for 200k+ hectares.
• Early warning signals for climate stress delivered to 5,000–10,000 farmers.
• District food production baselines generated for 5–10 districts.
• Climate-smart financing eligibility profiles for 20,000–40,000 farmers.

Why this matters:

Governments want real-time data to improve food security planning, subsidy targeting, and climate response.

1. System Performance & Reliability KPI

• 99% API uptime for registry and field verification services.
• Below1 second average time for field verification lookups.
• Full audit logs of registry updates anchored on Cardano.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Tanzania has more than 5.8 million smallholder farmers, yet fewer than 10% use any form of digital agriculture tool. There is no unified national registry that links farmers to their fields, no standard way to verify land use or production, and no shared digital infrastructure that financial institutions, government agencies, or development partners can rely on for credit scoring, subsidy delivery, or climate-risk monitoring. As a result, millions of farmers remain invisible to formal markets and underserved by finance, inputs, insurance, and extension services.

Our solution directly addresses this gap by partnering with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to design and pilot a Cardano-based Digital Agriculture Land & Farmer Registry for Tanzania. This registry will map, tokenise, and verify agricultural fields and link them to verified farmer profiles, creating a trusted, scalable digital foundation for finance, climate resilience, and national food-system planning. The long-term vision is a national-scale registry; in Fund 15 we focus on delivering the blueprint and 1–2 concrete regional pilots integrated into UNCDF’s existing programmes.

1. How we perceive the problem

The root issue is not only that farmers lack digital tools — it is that institutions lack trusted, verifiable, shared digital infrastructure. Without field-level verification, banks cannot underwrite credit efficiently; governments cannot target subsidies or monitor crop production; insurers cannot validate exposure; and development partners cannot measure impact.

Efforts remain fragmented across dozens of databases, spreadsheets, and manual systems.

The absence of a unified registry results in:

• duplication and inefficiency,
• mistrust between institutions,
• slow or inaccessible credit,
• poor subsidy targeting,
• limited climate-risk visibility, and
• low adoption of digital agriculture tools.

We approach this problem by addressing the foundation layer: the link between farmer to field to production history, anchored on a blockchain designed for transparency, auditability, and interoperability.

2. Our approach: why build a Cardano-based agriculture registry

The decision to use Cardano is driven by three needs identified with UNCDF and government stakeholders:

a) Trust and auditability across institutions

UNCDF works with banks, MFIs, mobile money providers, cooperatives, and government agencies; all need a shared source of truth. Cardano provides an immutable audit trail for field registration, updates, verification events, and financial transactions.

b) Tokenisation and structured metadata

Each field can be represented as a FieldNFT / RWA asset, containing:

• hashed geometry,
• area, administrative boundaries,
• crop history link,
• sustainability and soil indicators,
• farmer ID reference,
• timestamps and verification chains.

This is interoperable, machine-readable infrastructure that institutions can consume via API.

c) Future-proof identity & compliance

The architecture is compatible with Cardano-based DID, enabling future integration of farmer identity, cooperative membership, and KYC checks without exposing personal data on-chain.

3. Who this project engages

This proposal directly engages:

Farmers

Through UNCDF’s D4DAT and Kigoma programmes, 50,000–100,000 farmers will be digitally registered in pilots. They gain access to:

• credit
• input financing
• crop insurance
• climate-risk information
• market access tools
• digital identity tied to their fields

Financial institutions

UNCDF’s partner banks and MFIs integrate to:

• verify field boundaries,
• automate loan underwriting,
• reduce credit risk,
• lower interest rates by 10–20%,
• scale lending to smallholders.

Government of Tanzania (MoA Digital Unit)

They gain:

• a national-ready farmer/field registry blueprint,
• district-level food security analytics,
• improved subsidy targeting,
• climate adaptation tools.

UNCDF

The registry strengthens UNCDF’s digital finance and agriculture transformation programmes and improves transparency in donor reporting.

Cardano ecosystem developers

Open-source APIs and metadata schemas allow other RealFi products to integrate nationwide.

4. How we will demonstrate and prove impact

Our impact demonstration combines on-chain analytics, farmer-level outcomes, and institutional usage metrics:

• 50,000–100,000 farmers digitally onboarded
• 200,000–500,000 hectares mapped and tokenised
• 50,000+ FieldNFTs pre-minted and pre-configured
• 1,000–10,000 farmers receiving credit or input financing advice
• 20–30% reduction in loan approval times
• 10–20% reduction in interest rates for digitally verified farmers
• 10–25% increases in yields from timely input access
• 6–12% increases in net farm income
• 5–10 financial institutions integrated
• 20,000–25,000 on-chain events (loan flows, field updates, verifications)

These metrics demonstrate real-world progress for farmers, institutions, and the Cardano network.

5. What is unique about our solution

Several elements make this proposal uniquely powerful:

a) Tier-1 partner with national reach

UNCDF brings unparalleled access to banks, MFIs, mobile money operators, cooperatives, government ministries, and village-level networks. This is exactly the type of partner envisioned for the Tier-1 category.

b) Field-first approach

Most digital ag systems focus on the farmer profile; our system starts with the field, the core economic asset, enabling geospatial credit scoring, climate-risk mapping, and production tracking.

c) Cardano-native tokenisation at national scale

No African country has yet deployed a blockchain-anchored land and farmer registry. This pilot positions Cardano as the backbone of national agricultural digital infrastructure.

d) Integration with existing UNCDF programmes

We are not building a standalone system. This registry plugs directly into D4DAT, Kigoma Joint Programme, DMA farmer ID system, and existing financial inclusion schemes.

**6. Why this matters for Cardano **

Cardano gains:

• one of the largest real-world RWA deployments on any blockchain,

• tens of thousands of on-chain assets tied to real farmland,

• institutional adoption across banks, MFIs, UN agencies, and government,

• a blueprint replicable across Africa,

• a massive increase in RealFi visibility and credibility.

This solution turns Cardano into a national public infrastructure layer for agriculture and financial inclusion—exactly the long-term vision of RealFi.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

To ensure this project delivers measurable and transparent value to both Tanzanian stakeholders and the global Cardano community, we will use a structured, multi-tiered impact evaluation framework.

This framework covers quantitative KPIs, qualitative outcomes, on-chain metrics, and knowledge sharing outputs.

1. How We Will Measure Impact (Quantitative Metrics)

We will apply rigorous, evidence-based monitoring aligned with UNCDF, Ministry of Agriculture, and Catalyst expectations.

Quantitative metrics include:

Farmer and Land Digitisation

• Number of farmers profiled (target: 50,000–100,000)
• Hectares mapped and delineated (target: 200,000–500,000 ha)
• FieldNFTs / on-chain records minted (target: 50,000+)

Economic Impact

• Farmers receiving credit or input financing (target: 5,000–10,000)
• Average loan approval time reduction (20–30%)
• Interest rate reductions (10–20% improvement vs. non-digital farmers)
• Yield increases (10–25%)
• Income improvements (6–12%)

Institutional Adoption

• Number of integrated financial institutions (5–10)
• Number of trained government extension officers (500)
• Registry/API usage (1M+ API calls)

On-Chain Adoption (Cardano Metrics)

• On-chain FieldNFT transactions
• Metadata updates
• Institutional wallet activity
• Smart contract calls for financing events
• NFT/RWA indexing growth via NMKR

All of these metrics will be continuously monitored and published in monthly or quarterly dashboards via:

• AWS-based analytics
• Cardano blockchain explorers
• Internal registry logs
• UNCDF programme reporting tools

2. How We Will Measure Impact (Qualitative Metrics)

For long-term sustainability, qualitative impact matters as much as quantitative.

We will track:

Farmer-Level

• perceived fairness of loans
• trust in digital systems
• ease of onboarding
• ability to access markets and buyers
• climate resilience and security

Institutional-Level

• operational efficiency improvementsreduction in field verification costs
• reduction in field verification costs
• speed of processing new loan applications
• adoption readiness for full national deployment

Government-Level

• usability of unified registry
• ability to monitor district-level food security
• effectiveness of subsidy targeting

These will be collected through:

• UNCDF field agent interviews
• focus groups with cooperatives
• Ministry of Agriculture workshops
• lender surveys
• remote sensing validation

3. How Success Brings Value to the Cardano Community

Real World Adoption at National Scale

This project places Cardano at the center of a national digital agriculture transformation — something unmatched by any other L1 blockchain.

Cardano benefits through:

• large-scale RWA tokenisation
• institutional wallet integrations
• production-grade APIs
• a replicable model for other African nations
• increased visibility among development banks and UN agencies

Developer Ecosystem Expansion

The open-source APIs and metadata schemas will be:

• published
• documented
• free for use
• and fully replicable

allowing other builders to create:

• credit scoring dApps
• climate-risk dApps
• insurance protocols
• agricultural supply chain tools
• DeFi bridges for ag-finance

Reputational Impact

This project strengthens Cardano’s RealFi brand with:

• a United Nations Tier-1 partner
• government agencies
• major financial institutions
• international development stakeholders

This elevates Cardano’s credibility globally.

4. How We Will Share Outputs and Opportunities

Transparency and community contribution are foundational.

We will publish:

Open-Source Outputs

• registry APIs
• metadata schemas
• integration templates
• documentation
• infrastructure diagrams
• smart contract examples

Public Reports

We will share:

• quarterly progress reports
• on-chain activity dashboards
• geospatial impact summaries
• farmer impact assessment reports
• open-access datasets (where allowed by data licensing rules)

Community Engagement

Over 9–12 months we will conduct:

• 3–4 community AMAs
• 1–2 public demo days
• quarterly written updates
• a final Catalyst close-out video
• workshops with Cardano builders and ecosystem teams

Open Demonstrator Platform

An open dashboard will visualize:

• registry activity
• on-chain metrics
• field digitisation progress
• financial programme adoption

allowing the global Cardano community to track impact in real time.

Summary

This project creates value for farmers, institutions, governments, UNCDF, Cardano developers, Africa’s financial ecosystem, and the global blockchain community.

Impact will be measured rigorously, reported transparently, and shared openly — fulfilling both the operational and philosophical goals of Cardano Fund 15.

[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?

This project is led by DigiFarm in collaboration with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), forming a consortium with the technical, operational, financial, and governance maturity required to deliver a Tier-1 Enterprise Integration on Cardano.

Our combined track record across Africa, Europe, and India demonstrates our ability to execute with accountability, technical precision, and measurable impact.

1. DigiFarm’s Capability to Deliver (Technical, Operational, and Domain Expertise)

DigiFarm is a highly specialised agricultural technology company with a proven track record of delivering satellite-based field boundary mapping, crop monitoring, AI-driven analysis, and digital agriculture platforms at continental scale. Our core capabilities include:

a) Advanced Geospatial and AI Capability

• Successfully mapped 750+ million hectares of farmland globally (57 countries)
• Currently working with 8 National Paying Agencies (Ministry of Agriculture, Govts) in EU-region supporting their digitisting of land registry data (LPIS/IACS)
• Proven 25% reduction in subsidy/control and administrative costs and errors from digitised national land registry across over 500,000 sq.km of farm land, and over 15% higher accuracy than exising Cadastral data.
• 95% accuracy in detecting field boundaries and agricultural land across 750m hectares of agricultural land.
• Successfully delivering API-first data-layers for control, verification, underwriting (insurance, finance etc) to over 60 enterprise clients.
• Award-winning technology with multiple patents filed (AI-powered super-resolution and field-edge detection).

b) Proven Delivery of Catalyst Projects

We have already delivered three Catalyst-funded projects (Funds 11, 12, 13):

• FieldNFT minting pipelines integrated with Cardano
• Sustainability and field performance indexing
• Satellite-based production history detection
• A fully functional web application (https://nfts.digifarm.io/)) featuring field selection, metadata generation, and NMKR minting
• 10,000+ off-chain NFT configurations
• Fund 13 (Project ID: 1300178) currently supporting and verifying https://cardanofoundation.org/veridian for the ID on chain with Syngenta Foundation (Partner Proposal)
• 500 on-chain FieldNFTs
• Full reporting, PoAs, demo videos, and integration documentation

All prior Fund deliverables were submitted on time with transparent reporting — demonstrating trustworthiness, financial discipline, and high accountability.

c) Senior Team with Deep Agricultural Expertise

Our leadership includes agronomists, remote sensing experts, former BASF digital farming leaders, ex-Zoner.ag founders (acquired by BASF), and 15 generations of farming experience.

This ensures our solution is grounded in real agronomic reality — not just technical theory.

d) International Implementation Experience

DigiFarm has delivered agricultural digital systems in Africa including:

• Kenya
• Ethiopia
• Mozambique
• Uganda
• South Africa

We understand both rural realities and enterprise-level data requirements.

2. UNCDF’s Capability to Deliver (Tier-1 Partner Capabilities)

UNCDF is one of the most capable international development institutions in the world for last-mile finance and digital agriculture. Their capabilities include:

a) Large-Scale Programmes in Tanzania

• Co-lead of the D4DAT national digital agriculture programme
• Lead implementer in the Kigoma Joint Programme (digital farmer onboarding + financial inclusion)
• Multi-million annual budgets and funding
• Deep engagement with government ministries
• Bank, MFI, and cooperative partnerships nationwide

b) Real Operational Infrastructure

UNCDF brings:

• Field staff
• Extension networks
• Farmer group networks
• Agent networks
• Partnerships with DMA, cooperatives, SACCOs, and MFIs
• Direct access to Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture digital teams

c) High Governance andCompliance Standards

As a UN institution, UNCDF meets the strictest standards

for:

• Financial transparency
• Data ethics
• Procurement
• Monitoring & evaluation
• Reporting
• Government engagement

This supports the credibility and impact measurement of the project.

3. Technical Feasibility: Why This Solution Can Be Delivered Now

a) Technology already exists

The entire data processing stack required already exists:

• Field boundary AI (DigiFarm)
• Credit scoring logic templates (from Fund 13 pilots)
• NFT minting pipelines (NMKR)
• Cardano integration APIs
• Farmer onboarding and verification infrastructure (UNCDF + D4DAT)
• Government interoperability frameworks (MoA Digital Unit)

There are no major unknowns. This is implementation — not research.

b) Pilot regions are ready

UNCDF has pre-existing field networks in:

• Dodoma
• Kigoma
• Ruvuma
• Manyara

These regions already have:

• organised farmer groups
• active UNCDF programmes
• local government support
• mobile money penetration
• extension officers familiar with digital tools

c) Regulatory alignment

The registry supports — not replaces — government systems.

It feeds into existing agricultural data structures, maintaining Tanzanian data sovereignty while enabling auditability on Cardano.

4. Validation Plan: How We Will Prove Feasibility

We will validate feasibility through:

a) Field Tests

• Sample of 5,000–10,000 farmers will be mapped, tokenised, and linked to farmer profiles.
• These farmers will go through live credit workflows, insurance triggers, and digital extension services.

b) Institutional Pilots

Banks, MFIs, and cooperatives will use:

• field verification APIs,
• credit scoring logic,
• on-chain audit trails.

Loan cycles will be measured pre- and post-registry.

c) Government Validation

MoA digital teams will evaluate:

• interoperability,
• data accuracy,
• registry alignment with national systems,
• food security dashboard outputs.

d) Real On-Chain Metrics

Cardano blockchain data will prove:

• FieldNFT creation
• transaction events
• metadata updates
• institutional wallet activity

This is transparent and verifiable by anyone.

5. Trust and Accountability: How We Will Manage Funds Properly

DigiFarm has demonstrated full financial compliance across three previous Catalyst funds.

Our approach includes:

a) Milestone-Based Delivery

We structure the project around:

• clear milestones,
• objective deliverables,
• verifiable outputs (videos, dashboards, datasets, demos).

Funds are only requested after delivering proof.

b) Detailed Documentation

Every milestone includes:

• technical documentation
• code repositories
• PoA videos
• data samples
• system diagrams

c) Transparent Reporting

We commit to:

• monthly updates,
• quarterly reports,
• public dashboards,
• on-chain transparency.

d) UN Governance Standards With UNCDF as a partner:

• data governance
• field validation
• financial oversight
• institutional compliance

are held to UN-level standards.

This ensures both accountability and international credibility.

Conclusion

With DigiFarm’s technical leadership, UNCDF’s national infrastructure and strong government alignment, this project is fully feasible, highly credible, and designed for successful national-scale deployment.

We not only have the capability to deliver — we have already delivered similar systems across multiple Catalyst rounds and international development contexts.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

M1 – Consortium Alignment, Government Engagement & Technical Architecture

Milestone Outputs

Outputs:

•	UNCDF partnership framework & WPs and milestone overview

•	MoA Digital Unit partnership confirmation

•	Data governance + compliance plan

•	National architecture blueprint

•	Cardano integration architecture

•	API + registry model draft

This milestone proves the institutional and technical foundation.

Acceptance Criteria

B. Acceptance Criteria

•	UNCDF and MoA confirm collaboration formally (LoI + written confirmation).

•	All architectural and data-governance documents delivered and reviewed by partners.

•	Cardano architecture

Evidence of Completion

C. Evidence of Completion

•	PDF: WP Description Document 

•	PDF: MoA Digital Unit confirmation letter / email

•	PDF: National Architecture Blueprint

•	PDF: Data Governance Framework

•	GitHub link: initial API/model documentation

•	Loom/Youtube video walkthrough of architecture

Delivery Month

2

Cost

120000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

M2 — Field Boundary Digitisation & Farmer Registry Setup

Milestone Outputs

A. Outputs

•	200,000–500,000 hectares digitised using DigiFarm satellite-AI models.

•	50,000–100,000 field boundary records cleaned, validated and stored.

•	Farmer onboarding workflows integrated with UNCDF DMA / KJP channels.

•	10,000–20,000 farmers digitally profiled (field, cooperative, geolocation).

•	Registry database + AWS backend deployed and accessible to UNCDF and MoA.

•	Training toolkit for 500 extension agents (UNCDF programme requirement).

Acceptance Criteria

B. Acceptance Criteria

•	Field boundaries meet accuracy thresholds (above 85% IoU vs. ground-truth in sample).

•	Farmer onboarding workflow integrated and tested.

•	Registry accessible via secure endpoints for UNCDF programme managers.

Evidence of Completion

C. Evidence of Completion

•	CSV files: 50k–100k field records (hashed where necessary)

•	AWS URL: registry API (read-only demo mode)

•	PDF: training manual for extension workers

•	Loom video: farmer onboarding + registry upload demo

•	Dashboard screenshot: hectares and farmers onboarded

Delivery Month

6

Cost

220000

Progress

40 %

Milestone Title

M3 - Cardano Tokenisation Layer & On-Chain Registry

Milestone Outputs

A. Milestone Outputs

•	Registry prepared for 50,000–100,000 field records, with periodic batch hashes anchored on Cardano to guarantee integrity.

•	5,000–10,000 FieldNFTs / FieldRWA tokens minted on Cardano as a representative sample across regions, cooperatives, and financial partners.

•	Full CIP-68 metadata standard implemented for all minted NFTs and registry objects.

•	NMKR minting pipeline configured for on-demand minting, ensuring scalability without requiring all fields to be minted upfront.

•	Smart-contract components for registry anchoring and verification deployed to testnet/mainnet as appropriate.

•	Institutional wallets created and tested (UNCDF, MoA, MFIs), validating cross-institutional access and workflows.

•	On-chain verification API deployed (returns field-existence, policy ID, metadata hash, etc.).

Acceptance Criteria

B. Acceptance Criteria

•	5,000–10,000 FieldNFTs verifiably minted and visible on Cardano explorer.

•	Batch-anchoring mechanism in place for all registry field records (e.g., hashed batches committed to Cardano).

•	CIP-68 metadata validated for all minted tokens.

•	NMKR on-demand minting pipeline successfully tested with multiple batches.

•	On-chain verification API correctly identifies registered fields and their tokenisation status.

•	Institutional wallets confirmed operational and tested with sample interactions.

Evidence of Completion

C. Evidence of Milestone Completion:

•	Explorer policy IDs and sample links showing 5,000–10,000 minted FieldNFTs.

•	Example transactions showing batch hashes for large field groups.

•	GitHub repository containing metadata schemas, batch-anchoring logic, and contract code.

•	API documentation + Loom video demonstrating on-chain verification and minting workflow.

•	Screenshots/logs of institutional wallet setup and access.

Delivery Month

8

Cost

180000

Progress

70 %

Milestone Title

M4 - Financial Rail Integration (Credit, Inputs, Insurance)

Milestone Outputs

A. Milestone Outputs:

•	Credit scoring profiles generated for 20,000–40,000 farmers registered in the pilot regions.

•	Full integration of at least 2 UNCDF partner financial institutions (MFIs/banks/cooperatives) into credit-verification and decision-support workflows.

•	Climate-risk and insurance eligibility dashboards built using field-level vegetation and drought indicators.

•	Live end-to-end pilot flows executed (input loans, working-capital loans, or insurance enrolment) for a meaningful pilot cohort of 100–200 farmers.

•	Financial decision events (approvals, repayments, insurance triggers) logged or referenced on Cardano for representative sample flows (no fixed minimum).

•	District-level food security and production dashboards delivered to Ministry of Agriculture and UNCDF teams.

Acceptance Criteria

B. Acceptance Criteria:

•	Written confirmation from at least two financial institutions stating that they have successfully integrated the registry and are using it in real underwriting or product workflows.

•	Demonstrated end-to-end financial workflows (credit or insurance) executed for at least 100–200 farmers.

•	Cardano backend shows sample on-chain financial-event records (e.g., verification logs, metadata updates, registry commitments).

•	Climate-risk/insurance dashboards reviewed and approved by UNCDF and MoA digital teams.

Evidence of Completion

C. Evidence of Milestone Completion:

•	MoUs / letters / emails from integrated financial institutions confirming usage.

•	Anonymised CSV dataset showing pilot farmer cohort scoring + product decisions.

•	Screenshots or Loom walkthrough of credit, insurance and climate dashboards.

•	Blockchain transaction IDs or explorer screenshots showing financial-event logging.

•	PDF documentation summarising institutional workflows and integration tests.

Delivery Month

10

Cost

150000

Progress

90 %

Milestone Title

M5 - National Scaling Blueprint, Dashboard, Documentation & Close-Out

Milestone Outputs

A. Outputs

•	National scale-up blueprint for Tanzania (MoA + UNCDF aligned).

•	Full open-source documentation (API, metadata, smart contracts).

•	Public analytics dashboard:

•	FieldNFT stats

•	Farmer onboarding

•	On-chain transactions

•	Institutional usage metrics

•	Policy paper on digital land/field registries for Africa (Cardano-backed).

•	Catalyst Final Project Close-Out Report + Final Video.

Acceptance Criteria

B. Acceptance Criteria

•	Blueprint accepted by UNCDF + shared with MoA.

•	Public dashboard live with real-time metrics.

•	Complete GitHub documentation repository published.

•	Final close-out materials delivered.

Evidence of Completion

C. Evidence of Completion

•	PDF: National Scaling Blueprint

•	Public dashboard URL + screenshots

•	GitHub repo link

•	Final Close-Out Report

•	Final Close-Out Video

Delivery Month

12

Cost

80000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

All amounts in ADA.

This budget covers a 12-month Tier-1 Enterprise Integration in Tanzania, including national architecture, mapping 200k–500k hectares, registry development, Cardano tokenisation, UNCDF field deployment, financial-institution integration, climate dashboards, and pilot testing.

1. PERSONNEL & ENGINEERING (₳295,000)

Covers DigiFarm engineers, geospatial analysts, backend/API developers, mobile onboarding integration, and Cardano smart-contract development.

Software Engineering & API Development — ₳140,000

•	Backend engineers (x3)

•	API + registry build

•	DevOps, security, scaling

•	AWS/GCP infrastructure setup

Geospatial AI Processing & Data Engineering — ₳80,000

•	Field boundary delineation

•	Satellite data calibration

•	Biomass/climate model processing

•	QA/QC over 200k–500k ha

Cardano Smart Contracts, CIP-68 Integration, On-Chain Anchoring — ₳45,000

•	Smart-contract deployment

•	Verification API

•	RWA hashing logic

•	On-chain batch anchoring

NMKR Minting Pipeline Engineering — ₳30,000

•	On-demand minting

•	Batch minting configuration

•	Metadata templates

•	API integrations

2. UNCDF FIELD OPERATIONS & DIGITAL DEPLOYMENT (₳190,000)

Supports Tanzania-based implementation across 2–3 regions.

UNCDF Field Coordination & Programme Management — ₳75,000

•	Field staff

•	Local audits

•	Stakeholder workshops

•	Monitoring & evaluation

Farmer Onboarding & Training in Pilot Regions — ₳60,000

•	500 extension officers trained

•	Local cooperative mobilization

•	Field agent stipends

•	DMA/USSD workflow integration

Financial Institution Integration (MFIs/Banks/Coops) — ₳35,000

•	Technical workshops

•	Account setup

•	Credit workflow alignment

•	Loan product digitisation support

Government Engagement (MoA Digital Unit) — ₳20,000

•	Data governance

•	Architectural reviews

•	Adoption roadmap planning

3. CARDANO BLOCKCHAIN COSTS (₳70,000)

Covers actual on-chain fees, not engineering.

NFT/RWA Minting Costs — ₳45,000

•	5,000–10,000 FieldNFTs minted (approx. 4–5 ADA per mint)

•	Policy registration

•	Testnet/mainnet deployment

(We explicitly avoid minting 50k+ NFTs to prevent unnecessary burn-rate.)

Batch Anchoring & Verification Fees — ₳15,000

•	Weekly/bi-weekly registry batch hashes

•	On-chain metadata updates

•	Institutional wallet verification calls

Smart Contract & Wallet Activity Fees — ₳10,000

•	Loan/insurance event logging

•	Metadata reference updates

•	Financial workflow proofs

4. PLATFORM, HOSTING & TECH INFRASTRUCTURE (₳60,000)

AWS/GCP Hosting, Storage & Compute — ₳35,000

•	High-volume geospatial workloads

•	API uptime guarantee

•	Database scaling

•	S3/Cloud Storage for satellite tiles

Monitoring, Security, & Compliance — ₳15,000

•	Logging

•	API gateway security

•	Access control

•	Load testing

Software Licenses (Mapbox/Maxar Tiles, misc.) — ₳10,000

5. COMMUNICATIONS, ENGAGEMENT & COMMUNITY (₳55,000)

Public Dashboard & Transparency Portal — ₳15,000

•	On-chain metrics

•	Adoption statistics

•	Open-source documentation

Community Engagement & Outreach — ₳20,000

•	Presentations to Cardano community

•	AMAs, workshops, virtual events

•	Monthly updates

•	Translation (Swahili + English)

Marketing, Promotion & Stakeholder Materials — ₳20,000

•	UNCDF events

•	Pilot videos

•	Local stakeholder leaflets

•	Social media campaigns

•	Government briefing slides

6. PROJECT MANAGEMENT, REPORTING & ADMIN (₳50,000)

•	Monthly reporting to Catalyst

•	UNCDF programme reporting

•	Documentation (technical + field manuals)

•	Accounting & audit preparation

•	Legal review and compliance

7. CONTINGENCY RESERVE (₳30,000)

Approximately 4% of total budget.

Covers currency fluctuations, unexpected field mobilization, cost spikes in satellite tiles, or emergencies.

8. TOTAL REQUESTED FROM CATALYST: ₳750,000

If total costs exceed the Catalyst budget

DigiFarm and UNCDF will cover additional costs through:

•	in-kind contributions of staff time,

•	existing UNCDF programme budgets (D4DAT, KJP regions),

•	DigiFarm infrastructure not billed to Catalyst (AWS credits, satellite workflows),

•	partner contributions (NMKR engineering hours, RevMax integration hours).

No retroactive costs, incentives, prize funding, or unrelated marketing is included, fully complying with Fund 15 rules.

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

This project represents exceptional value for money because it directly advances Cardano’s RealFi mission, builds institutional-grade infrastructure with a United Nations partner, and enables a national-scale production deployment that would typically cost several million dollars in a traditional development-finance context. By leveraging DigiFarm’s existing geospatial AI and UNCDF’s national presence in Tanzania, Catalyst is funding implementation—not blue-sky research—making every ADA spent highly efficient.

1. Strong Alignment With Cardano RealFi Strategy

Cardano’s roadmap prioritises Real World Assets, financial inclusion, institutional adoption, and large-scale government partnerships. This project delivers all four:

•	A national agricultural land & field registry

•	50k–100k fields registered

•	5k–10k FieldNFT/RWA assets minted

•	Institutional wallet adoption (UNCDF, MoA, MFIs)

•	Credit, insurance and climate-risk rails deployed in production

Each component generates long-term, recurring on-chain activity, expanding Cardano’s institutional footprint across Africa.

Few proposals in any Catalyst fund can generate impact at this scale.

2. Cost Efficiency Through Existing Infrastructure

DigiFarm brings pre-built technology that significantly reduces cost:

•	satellite-based field boundary AI (already built)

•	sustainability index + biomass models

•	registry template from Fund 13

•	NMKR minting integrations from Fund 12–13

•	credit-scoring logic developed with Syngenta pilots

Because core systems exist, Catalyst funding is used for deployment and integration, not invention—resulting in dramatically lower cost than a full greenfield project.

3. Labour Costs Are Competitive and Transparent

Engineering and data science resources in this proposal cost ₳40–₳50/hour, which is consistent with:

•	typical freelance engineering rates in Eastern Europe (USD $40–$60/hr)

•	global geospatial engineering contractors ($45–$80/hr)

•	experienced Cardano developers ($40–$70/hr)

UNCDF field staff costs are also far lower than equivalent commercial market rates, because UNCDF already operates large inclusion programs (D4DAT, KJP) and contributes in-kind resources.

Overall, labour costs are 30–50% lower than comparable UN/World Bank projects.

4. Scale and Scope Far Exceed the Budget

With ₳750,000, Catalyst enables:

•	200k–500k hectares digitally delineated

•	50k–100k fields registered in the national system

•	5k–10k FieldNFTs minted

•	batch anchoring of the entire registry

•	20k–40k farmers scored for credit

•	100–200 live financial flows

•	integration with multiple MFIs and government institutions

•	public dashboards and fully open-source documentation

In a typical UN/World Bank development context, a project of similar scale would cost $3–7 million.

Catalyst achieves this for a fraction of the cost.

5. Direct, Measurable On-Chain Value to Cardano

This project ensures:

•	thousands of RWA assets on Cardano

•	institutional wallets controlling real economic flows

•	Cardano used as a verification and integrity layer

•	farmer identity rails built for expansion

•	reusable open-source APIs for other Cardano builders

It is likely to become one of the largest sources of real-world on-chain transactions in the ecosystem.

6. Global Replicability

The system is designed to be deployed in:

•	Uganda

•	Kenya

•	Zambia

•	Malawi

•	Rwanda

•	India

UNCDF operates in 45+ countries, making the Cardano-based registry a repeatable pattern.

This multiplies the long-term return on the initial Catalyst investment.

7. Transparent Use of Funds

The budget is proportionally allocated:

•	DigiFarm engineering & AI (54%)

•	UNCDF national implementation & field operations (25%)

•	On-chain blockchain costs (9%)

•	Community engagement & transparency (7%)

•	Contingency (4%)

No funds are used for token incentives, prizes, speculative marketing, or unrelated activities—fully compliant with Catalyst rules.

Conclusion

For ₳750,000, Catalyst receives a UN-backed national digital agriculture and RealFi infrastructure deployment, leveraging Cardano for field verification, credit scoring, insurance risk computation, and registry anchoring.

The combination of:

•	institutional backing

•	national scale

•	on-chain adoption

•	technical maturity

•	replicability

makes this one of the most cost-efficient and high-impact RealFi proposals in Fund 15.

[Self-Assessment] Self-Assessment Checklist

I confirm that the lead applicant is a verified legal business entity.

Yes

I confirm that the lead org has a ≥2-year track record, and the consortium collectively has ≥$5M in verifiable annual revenue.

Yes

I confirm that evidence of collaboration with a qualified Tier-1 enterprise is provided.

Yes

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

Yes

I confirm that the proposal is for mature R&D or integration, not an early-stage concept or core infrastructure.

Yes

I confirm that evidence of a mature product is provided, with a clear integration plan if not already on Cardano.

Yes

I confirm that all key partners, including the Tier-1 collaborator, are clearly identified.

Yes

I confirm that a clear statement of the partner's in-kind or financial contributions is included.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal provides verifiable references (e.g., LinkedIn, portfolio) for key team members.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes clear KPIs for adoption (e.g., transaction volume, user growth). Forecast for projected on-chain transaction volume is provided with adequate justification.

Yes

I confirm that delivery is ≤ 12 months with clear milestones.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes a co-marketing or community engagement plan to amplify Cardano's visibility.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal budget is for future work only, not for completed tasks. No incentives, giveaways, private treasuries and regranting are included in the budget.

Yes

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

I Agree

Yes