First Ethiopian Stake Pool

We will start the first Cardano stake pool in Ethiopia and use the rewards to sustain the operation & seed additional local Cardano ventures

Mearaf: Dev @ FloCash
Jonathan: Diplomat
Ephrem: Entrepreneur
Nathan: Data Analyst @ Belcash Tech
Nebiyu: Comp Sci @ Addis Ababa University

Vision
By creating the first Cardano stake pool in Ethiopia, we will plant a seed to help grow the local Cardano development community. We will demonstrate the power of Cardano by generating tangible returns which will in turn pave the way for others. We will lower the barrier to entry by serving as a local source of first-hand knowledge and Ada liquidity.

UPDATE 4-23-2021: The plan has been updated to run the stake pool in ETHIOPIA on local hardware. Initially it will be on a small server based in a local office, but later we will transition to a true data center in Addis Ababa.

Development Roadmap

1. Phase 1: Within the first month of funding, setup the stake pool on Local Hardware in Addis Ababa, and then for the next 5 months focus on promoting the pool to garner sufficient delegated stake.
2. Phase 2: When the first commercial data centers open in Ethiopia, move the stake pool nodes to a local data center (approximately 2-3 years from now; the first data center is under construction now at the ICT Park)
   The stake pool fees and rewards generated will be used to create a treasury. The treasury will sustain the operations of the stake pool indefinitely into the future (pay local network, electricity bills, etc). If the treasury can support it, we will also fund additional local Cardano-related ventures. While promoting our stake pool, we will also promote Cardano and Project Catalyst to developers, entrepreneurs, and investors in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Diaspora around the world.
   We are now working together with other local Catalyst proposers who are focused specifically on promoting Cardano and Catalyst in Addis Ababa. Their efforts will help to promote our stake pool to local investors as well as show the developer community what is possible via Project Catalyst.

Internship Program

Our stake pool will initially be run by Nebiyou, but we plan to train local developers and students from Addis Ababa University, and offer them paid internships to do the day-to-day operation of the stake pool nodes (software updates, server maintenance, etc.), as well as to assist with digital marketing and other tasks. This internship will give them valuable hands-on experience so that they will then be able to start their own Cardano projects (maybe more stake pools!) in the future. It will also allow the proposers to focus on other Catalyst projects and networking in Addis Ababa.

Measures of Success

• After 3 Months: Cardano Stake Pool running in Addis Ababa
• After 6 months: Number of local jobs created

After 1 year: Number of Cardano-related projects funded from our treasury and the number of new community members who are attracted to Cardano thanks to the promotion of our stake pool.

Budget for 6 months:

Stake: $12,000
Internet connection: $500
Hardware: $500
Advertising: $1000
Staff salary: $5,000 (to hire local staff/interns to dedicate time to the promotion and operation of the stake pool until it is generating sufficient fees and rewards to be self-sustaining)

Expected Launch Date: July 30, 2021 or earlier (when we expect the stake pool to be running and ready for delegation)

Team Bios

• Mearaf Tadewos is a Mobile Application Engineer and Full-Stack developer at FloCash (payment service provider). She holds a degree in Computer Science and began her career as a Website Development Trainer at HeyDay Computer Technology. Afterwards, she worked as a Web Developer at Addis Technologies. She participated in the original Haskell Programming training provided by IOHK in Ethiopia and took part in the testing of the Plutus Playground. She received a scholarship to attend the Mobile Application Engineering Course at Gebeya IT Academy. In 2019, Mearaf won second place in the Green innovation Agri-tech Slam in the pre-revenue category for developing a mobile application that guides farmers on Permaculture methods.
• Jonathan W. is a U.S. Diplomat and former scientist. He holds a degree in Engineering Physics and began his career working on laser weapon systems at Boeing. Later, Jonathan developed advanced imaging systems at SRI International, including creating custom software for machine vision and computational photography. Since 2012, Jonathan has served as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State, including assignments in Mauritius, Canada, Cote D'Ivoire, and now Ethiopia. Jonathan speaks English, French, and a little Amharic. (Please note that Jonathan's involvement in Project Catalyst is strictly personal and does not imply an official endorsement by the United States Government)
• Ephrem Bogale is the owner of Bogale Employment Agency. He started his business after graduating with a degree in Accounting and Finance from Rift Valley University. He is excited by the prospects of Cardano enabling small businesses to succeed in Ethiopia. Ephrem Speaks Amharic, Oromo, and English.
• Nathan S. is a recent Rutgers University graduate in Economics and Business Administration. Nathan began his career working for Sunrun, a solar energy distributor in the US, he has since moved to Ethiopia and currently works for Belcash Technologies. He focuses on sustainable business and economic development here in Ethiopia. He has been a Cardano investor and holder for over two years and sees a bright future for the project on the African continent.
• Nebiyu is a Computer Science graduate from Addis Ababa University, and maintains strong connections with the staff and student body. He is currently running a stake pool on the Cardano TestNet running on local hardware in Addis Ababa

Thank you! አመሰግናለሁ

Map image copyright Adatainment.com

Requested budget will be enough to fund operations for 6 months, after which the stake pool will be self-sustaining