West Africa Decentralized Alliance

Create a network of Cardano Resource Hubs for Solutions Design for local influence and developer onboarding throughout West Africa

Team: Marketing, Project & Nonprofit Work Experience in W/Africa, Software Developer, Project Management, Analytics, Community Engagement

We have made significant updates below to our fund2 proposal. New additions include,

1. Partnerships enabling easier focus of some of our work in local universities,
2. Two developer-focussed hubs; one in Accra, Ghana and the other in Douala, Cameroon within 3 months
3. Rejuvenated team with defined role clarity and
4. Weekly team building meetings to ensure team cohesion
5. A more detailed activity budget included.
6. Stakepool XYZ will provide technical and other support as a sponsor of WADA

Purpose of the Project ProposalResponding to the immense opportunities West Africa presents for Cardano blockchain adoption and the continent's well-documented barriers to adoption of cutting edge digital solutions, the proposers of this Project West Africa Decentralized Alliance (WADA) seeks ~ $31,885 for an initial 3 (three) month period from March 15 2021, to June 15, 2021, to start entrenching Cardano's cutting-edge solutions in the West Africa subregion. Our aim to accelerate the creation of dapps and attract new developers into the Cardano ecosystem who are attuned to solving local problems.
Our long-term goal is to establish and/or work with localities to remove barriers to adoption through identifying opportunities and building understanding and ability to implement or adopt digital identity solutions, micro-lending, decentralized finance and access to global markets, product authentication, and traceability solutions.
Our day-to-day activities of research, project implementation, public relations, advocacy, marketing, community engagement, and education will use a decentralized, cost-effective, and innovative approach to contribute to Cardano's overall Africa strategic intentions of bringing blockchain enterprise solutions to the continent and will achieve the following targets
Ultimately and after the 3-year lifespan of this project, we aim to evolve to focus on growing West African start-ups dedicated to building local solutions on the Cardano protocol.

Strategic Landscape

• Worldometer puts Africa's population at 1.4 billion and West Africa's population at just over 400 million as of January 2021 with a median age of 18 years indicating a big upside for economic expansion. A keenness to catch up with the West through emerging technological developments means West Africa offers an immense opportunity for international investments and therefore a large potential market for what Cardano has to offer.
• While China recognizes this potential and continues to invest heavily in the region, other parts of the western world have been slow to recognize this potential. Ryan Denehy (Founder & CEO electric.ai) says it best: "There is a massive startup ecosystem in Africa that nobody (in the US) is paying attention to"
• The growth of the Mobile Money economy has been explosive in West Africa with Ghana alone seeing a 45% increase in mobile money transactions in 2019 The market is, however, capitalized by high fees, interests, and transaction costs and is therefore ripe for blockchain technology disruption in the areas of finance and micro-lending
• Tailored Cardano enterprise solutions such as Atala Prism, Atala Trace, and Atala Scan will address numerous challenges on the continent as a whole and West Africa in particular.
• Indeed, Senegalese-American celebrity Akon realizes the West African potential for emerging technology and has secured of $6 billion funding to begin construction of Akon City ('futuristic cryptocurrency themed city') in the West African country of Senegal [6] with phase 1 set to complete in 2023
• Cardano's current approach of intermittent high profile country visits to spread Cardano and general blockchain awareness or community meet-ups although making for powerful messaging and awareness creation is not a sustainable model in the West Africa subregion due in part to regional socio-economic challenges as well as local political continuity and/or capability to see commitments through.
• Due to historical challenges and political fragmentation resulting from colonialism, the West Africa subregion alone has 18 distinct Anglophone and Francophone countries- and the region lacks the technological base and cohesion to enable blockchain technology to spread organically
• The current socio-economic and development landscape forecasts a growing presence of competing blockchain enterprises and Cardano's current strategy for growing opportunities in the region is not sufficient to compete or fully capitalize on the opportunities.
• Within the blockchain space, Cardano has by far the most cutting-edge blockchain technology. This Project (West Africa Decentralized Alliance) seeks to drive blockchain technology inclusion in the West Africa subregion and reverse the trend of almost non-existent dapps, businesses, and entrepreneurs building on Cardano protocol in the region.
• Through the work of IO Global (IOG), Cardano has made inroads into the East and South African regions but not much presence in the West African subregion
• The Cardano Community, Foundation, IOG and Emurgo have demonstrated a consistent intention and commitment to make the Cardano protocol a blockchain for the unbanked.

Strategic Direction

• Beginning in Ghana and Cameroon, we will set up local Cardano Resource Hubs for Solutions Design throughout cities and towns in West Africa. This is a critical starting point on our path towards revolutionizing the local economy. We will be planting the seed by attracting and/or training local developers, as it will be these minds that will subsequently help uplift our future projects that we intend to build using blockchain technologies.
• WADA is currently finalizing partnership with BEN (Blockchain Education Network) to attract Devs, Alumni & Blockchain groups & individuals based in West African universities as well as in local communities.
• We will also work with the Cardano ecosystem and West African subregional localities and other stakeholders to explore the tokenization of natural resources, improve wider access to financial services in client countries, establish blockchain-based education services in its academic institutions, broaden investor opportunity and decentralized applications and as well as business potential for the Cardano protocol.
• This Project will establish a dynamic presence in a financially challenged region and use a feedback loop of education, awareness creation, problem identification, and blockchain technology to ultimately boost the quality of life of local populations as well as increase Cardano investor returns and overall community engagement.
• "We need to ensure that blockchain education, problem/inefficiency identification (many times this is the base of innovation), funding, and general awareness on Cardano powered solutions are a key focus for West African nations. What does this mean in action? It means education material being produced for developing financial products in Marlowe/general purpose applications on Plutus are sponsored in African universities for finance/business students to innovate. It means we need to scale up the IOHK Africa team (specifically in Ghana and Nigeria and other West African nations). These are certainly just a few, but I am a firm believer that if we put this technology in the hands of builders (backed with the education and funding) they will seek out the inefficiencies in their local communities and build solutions to solve them". -DC (Dewayne Cameron, Liqwid Protocol, Cardano Community member).
• Accra, Ghana has long been the strategic headquarters for key African and West African institutions including the just ratified African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which the World Bank estimates will lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty. The fact that the Ghana Government in Accra has established a Diaspora Engagement Policy and the President is the current Chairman of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) ensures proximity for WADA's top-down, bottom-up approach to driving adoption.
• Local Resource Hubs for Solutions Design will be assisted by a team of international volunteer Cardano Community expertise with combined skills in project management and coordination, communications and networking, legal/accounting reporting, and fundraising to ensure a high degree of accountability and continued funding for the life of this project.

Major Milestones
Year 1

• Grow and establish online/virtual programs with regular surveys to determine current state, gaps and challenges
• Establish local Cardano Resource Hubs for Solutions Design
• Leverage relationship with BEN to make Cardano developer onboarding resources widely accessible
• Identify local project sponsor/s and influencers with a role to promote local high-level contacts and government commitments as well facilitate other project goals
• Implement developer training and onboarding programs
• Formalize our disciple model of each-one-bring-one, cohorting recruiting program
• Outline an on-the-ground current state of blockchain adoption in member localities and form alliances as appropriate.
• Continually search the Cardano ecosystem to identify potential solutions to utilize in West Africa based on local needs assessment
• Establish project management framework and finalize project scope and plan
• Use project goals as a guide to identify and implement low-hanging fruit objectives
• Report on achievements, finalize year 2 plans, and confirm funding

Year 2

• Implement key project's plan goals and objectives
• Get Cardano listed on West/Africa crypto exchanges
• Extend online membership scheme to on the ground localities, schools, and academic institutions
• Design and implement an international volunteer exchange program as an immersive learning experience and greater understanding of developing and developed world experiences for participants
• Establish and implement a model to manage change and spread learning in other West African Countries borrowing and sharing what works well in member and other countries in line with project goals
• Start project achievements' sustainability plan
• Report on achievements, finalize year 3 plans, and confirm funding

Year 3

• Continue to Implement the project's plan goals and objectives on a re-iterative basis
• Continue to manage change and spread learning in other West African Countries borrowing and sharing what works well in member countries and other countries within Africa and elsewhere
• Implement and transition to sustainability plan for Project's achievements; evolving to become a venture capitalist type organization dedicated to growing West African start-ups dedicated to building on the Cardano protocol.

Metrics
Instead of setting up an arbitrary long-term road map and measures that pretends to know the definition of success initially, we will position ourselves to respond to emerging opportunities as we explore the problem space. Being attuned to developments within the Cardano ecosystem and the localities will keep us aware of issues on the horizon whilst allowing for 6 to 12 weeks planning cycles to allow for short windows to correct as needed. We will include periodic retrospectives to ask questions of both ourselves and stakeholders. Is what we are doing working as planned? Should we either pivot direction or adjust our processes? Meanwhile, we will endeavour to report transparently outwards including failures and lessons learned

• For each 6 to 12 weeks planning cadence, we will monitor:
• Identified existing developers and businesses in West Africa willing to create on the Cardano protocol
• New developers recruited and/or for the Cardano ecosystem
• New start-ups willing to create on the Cardano protocol
• Number of West Africa based Stakepools
• Number of Resource Hubs for Solutions Design in West Africa
• New active and engaged Cardano Ambassadors in unique local communities
• Educational institutions willing to include blockchain education in their curriculum
• Active Cardano memberships or hubs formed with small business spin-offs
• Increase in Cardano protocol transactions originating from West Africa
• Alliances formed with other regional blockchain and poverty reduction stakeholders
• Number of West Africa based exchanges we can get ADA listed on
• Degree of public engagement with our marketing and social media plan

Risk Management
Some risks we anticipate and ways to mitigate are

• International and local travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For our initial 6 to 12 weeks, we will largely focus our work online as we continue to assess the global impact of Covid-19. We have already developed a one-stop-shop comprehensive website to start engaging developers in the region to explore what Cardano has to offer. The website is also meant to cater to individuals who want to find out about Cardano.
• Degree of participant country localities' willingness to participate in this Project: One of the key ways we will address this is through advocacy and having influential local and international individuals understand and carry our message. We will also showcase examples of what has worked elsewhere as examples of what is possible.
• Availability of local expertise in member countries to contribute to this project: Our plan to first search within our ecosystem to find enthusiasts has already identified 12 Cardano community members either living in or associated with West Africa willing to work with us. We will broaden this strategy to include and equip and local individuals, developers, and businesses already interested in blockchain technology.
• Future political instability and or government changes in member countries: We will have a policy of non-alignment to any one government or political party to ensure that changes to governments do not negatively impact our work in local communities
• Cardano Protocol or blockchain technology in general not reaching the full potential promised: Although we believe that blockchain technology is here to stay and it's only a matter of time, we do acknowledge that there may be delays in scaling the technology to widespread use. We will carefully manage expectations through openness and regular communication
• Other blockchain activities in member countries might constraint this project due to the level of acquired credibility and ability to deliver on promises: While a lot of our strengths will come from partnering with other reputable on the ground blockchain organizations, we will always strive to establish and maintain our brand in an open and forthright manner.
• Ease of local needs identification and deployment of smart contracts and businesses on Cardano to address identified challenges: Wherever possible, we will seek separate charity focused funding from say the SPO (stake pool operator) community to address rural local needs such as classrooms or clean water as an engagement tool to identify further needs appropriate for blockchain solutions
• Availability of local expertise in member countries to contribute to this Project: We will adopt and adapt IOG's approach of free high profile in-person training offerings e.g. Haskell programming language course for East African women. We will determine what course/s to offer after our needs assessment. This will also have the added benefit of creating awareness for the Project
• Ability of Cardano international community volunteer team to work seamlessly with local teams: During the second year of our project, we will design and implement an international volunteer exchange program as an immersive learning experience and greater understanding of developing and developed world experiences for participants
• Ability to acquire/create user-friendly blockchain education and awareness creation materials: This has already been identified as a high need venture withing the Cardano ecosystem and both the big 3 (IOG, CF and Emurgo) and various entities within the ecosystem are working to address this need. Our project has identified 'GimbaLabs' (Project Catalyst) as a close collaborative partner to help address this risk on a targeted basis
• Difficulty obtaining funding: This is from the beginning, a Project of and for the Cardano community. The Project governance structure will comprise a 'steering' group of Cardano community members whose role will not only be to direct the work on the ground but also to make sure that the goals of the project continue to align with Cardano's overall funding ROI (return on intention)

Relationships with other Projects
The strength of our work will be in leveraging the immense synergies both within and outside the Cardano ecosystem. Our current and potential partners are:

• BEN-Africa and other blockchains organizations driving adoption in West Africa
• ABCD, AfroFinLab, Liqwid Finance, GimbaLabs, and other compatible Cardano ecosystem emerging projects and innovations.
• IOG (Input Output Global) work in general and in East and Southern Africa
• Emurgo's blockchain business development plans
• Cardano Foundation and Community support
• Local government's ongoing development programs
• International and local non-profit poverty alleviation programs

Budget Breakdown
{Please find 3-month activity budget here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X1rffz3lO2kTuiD4fqGyWK_zQdcc4EeEl0R6ioA6qY8/edit#gid=1696385852 }

The Proposing TEAM

Implementation Team

• Afia Ghana Team Lead brings extensive experience in team leadership and community engagement/organization to WADA. She holds an MSc degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Lancaster, UK and a BSc. (Hons) in Natural Resources Management, University of Science and Technology (UST), Kumasi, Ghana. She was the coordinator of the Project Wildlife Clubs of African implemented by Birdlife International involving 17 African countries with the major output being information exchange between African Wildlife Clubs and their international counterparts through development of an electronic manual for the mainstreaming of environmental education for participating countries. She also worked as the Country Program Coordinator of Living Earth Foundation Ghana, coordinating the Darwin Initiative project for four years. She was involved with the implementation of institutional and capacity building in Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs), promoting the CREMA concept at the community and district levels resulting in strong local support and collaboration in potential CREMA areas countrywide. Her prior work as Programs Manager at Ghana Wildlife Society in charge of the Environmental Education and Communication Unit overseeing 1300 wildlife clubs distributed in first and second cycle schools as well as communities throughout Ghana and was responsible for the Society's public awareness/community development programs. https://www.linkedin.com/in/afia-asamoa-04911816/
• Felicien Cameroon Team Lead was born in Cameroon and his passions for IT and Agriculture have taken him around the world. His professional experience includes both working on high-profile IT projects for the government and direct hands-on experience farming at a regenerative, biodynamic farm. He and his team now seek to combine these two passions with the goal to revolutionize agriculture on a local level in Cameroon but with the goal to expand throughout Africa, incorporating blockchain technology into a grassroot economic approach, using Monrdragon's Coop structure as a model. He is ambitious, hardworking, and always looking for collaboration across different fields ensuring that these dreams become a reality with one of his mottos being, "We add to multiply." https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicienfotiomanfo1642a479/
• Jacob Design & Stakepool Lead is a creative Ghanaian graphic, web designer and stakepool operator. He is a passionate Cardano enthusiast who began exploring the power of blockchain technology in 2016. He believes that with education, West Africa Decentralized Alliance has the potential to serve as an eye-opener to local authorities and businesses in the Western part of Africa. Jacob is currently self-employed as a graphic, web designer & Cardano stakepool operator and lives in Accra, Ghana. Jacob is responsible for maintaining project website and technical outreach https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-tettey-314712133
• Josh Project & Data Lead is uniquely placed to be the Project Lead for WADA as well as operating its Data and Analytics. He brings his years of project management and team leadership from 10+ years in the startup world, running teams for Start Up Bootcamp and as an organizer for a Danish student enterprise accelerator (FED). His 2+ years in Canary Wharf, London working for the major banking and professional services firms have provided him with an insight into corporate partnerships and venture capital. https://linkedin.com/in/joshfielding
• Mercy: Communication & Coordination Lead has a combined 25+ years' experience in Project Management and Engagement (West Africa, Canada) Healthcare (UK, Canada) and brings a wealth of experience and passion to this project. She became hooked on Cardano when in early 2018, she listened to Charles Hoskinson's London School Economics "Cardano's Goals for Africa" talk and deeply identified with the message due to her B.Sc. degree in Renewable Natural Resources Management study in Ghana West Africa and her subsequent work there in forestry and wildlife conservation. She currently works part-time in one of the largest healthcare organizations in Canada and looking to split her time between West Africa and Canada. In 2019, she was one of the co-leads of a team that won the AHS (Alberta Health Services) President Excellence Award in Quality Improvement. Mercy is responsible for WADA coordination, communication and establishing partnerships. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mercy-tachie-menson-77b10931/

Volunteer Advisory Team

• Virginia G was born & raised in Senegal (West Africa). She speaks Wolof, French, & English. She was the captain of the regional volleyball team of Dakar Senegal and the recipient of the "Lion D'Or" National Title (Best Volley-Ball Player in Senegal) for two consecutive years. Culminating her sports career, she was drafted into the National Volleyball Team to represent Senegal and played in the African Olympics. The lessons she learned being into sports at an early age have stayed with her to this day and compose her core values: "teamwork, no man is an island, know your strengths & weaknesses, rely on your team, always respect your opponents, never box yourself in, stronger together, always keep your eyes on the ball & the bigger picture". At 19 years of age, she emigrated on her own from Senegal to the United States. She has since earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management with minors in Digital Marketing & Communication and currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Real-Estate Development. Virginia is a real-estate broker and business owner for 15+ years, licensed as a Class C Contractor, specializing in Real-Estate Owned (REO) properties including HUD homes, renovating/flipping, and hard-money investor lending. Her initial encounters with blockchain technology occurred in 2012, with the rise of Bitcoin, as an investor, and then in 2015 with the release of Ethereum. She and her two veteran technologist partners are the SPO team of Cardano Pool XYZ established in July 2020. Virginia is passionate about decentralized blockchain platform and solutions, the power of economic identity & financial freedom for all, conveying the benefits to those who may realize them.
• SIDNEY NICHOLAS brings years of experience and a diverse skill set to WADA. He has been on the leading edge of digital, social, and cognitive technology since early on in his career. His experience includes Co-Founder of Success Tracks, a personal development company in Santa Clarita, CA, and Associate Director of Analytics at Harte Hank, a Fortune 500 company. After finding Bitcoin in 2015, he has remained active in using, evangelizing, and supporting projects in the blockchain/cryptocurrency space. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidneynicholas/
• PROF. ERASMUS H. OWUSU WADA's Academic Advisor has over 26 years of functional experience in biodiversity management both in academia and the NGO sector. He is an Associate Professor in Conservation Science at the Department of Animal Science and Conservation Biology of the University of Ghana. He has a PhD in biodiversity management from the Durell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) of the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK, BSc. in Natural Resources Management from the Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Postgraduate Certificate in Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment from the Smithsonian Institution in the USA. Prof Owusu is the current Director for the University of Ghana Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies and was the Head of Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science of the University of Ghana from 2014-2016. With a rich experience in biodiversity project management having worked and managed several biodiversity conservation projects funded by the UNDP and the World Bank,he was a member of the National Biodiversity Committee and was part of the team that developed the National Biodiversity Strategy for Ghana. At the international level, Prof Owusu was the representative of Western Africa on the Technical Committee of the African Euro-Asian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) from 2012-2018 and the West Africa representative of Permian Global Advisors, UK.

Project Brief: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zzm4zwBHaQp9qdAaE_GGg07AY7aMQEfx0VFvRTidK_A/edit?usp=sharing