According to UN forecasts, Africa is expected to double its population by 2050, from 1 billion to nearly 2.4 billion inhabitants. Half of that population will be less than 25 years old.

World Bank figures show that young people represent 60% of the unemployed population in Africa. Among those who do have a job, the majority work in the informal economy. A report published in 2018, by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the topic, indicated that 94.9% of people between the ages of 15 and 24 in Africa work in the informal economy. In West Africa this figure is as high as 97.9%.

DRC has the 7th youngest country in the world according to the UN. This presents a unique mix of challenges and opportunities.

With blockchain being the number 1 in demand hard skill of 2020, our proposal seeks to catalyse, cultivate and encourage the burgeoning interest amongst the architects and entrepreneurs of the future in blockchain and related technologies in the digital economy.

Sustainable Development Goals Data:

We are focusing our initial efforts on two Educational Institutions in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

https://countries.africasdgindex.org/#/congo-dem-rep

https://countries.africasdgindex.org/#/cote-divoire

Educational Learning Institutes :

The national calculus center (CNCCI) (Ivory Coast) https://cncci.edu.ci/
ISDR/GL (Goma, DRC) http://www.isdrgl.org

ISDR/GL is a host to the Cardano 2021 Summit (25-26 September 2021)

Goals of the stake pools:

Provide thousands of students exposure to the blockchain by a local implementation
Education and equipping youth and stakeholders with the skills to flourish in a digital economy
Fund Cardano Meetups by students through generated revenues
Provide local staking information to local investors in Cardano
Open up access and raise awareness of opportunities for locals to tap into a global market

Benefits:

Exposure to Cardano blockchain for thousands of students who can use decentralized financial institutions
Learning opportunities for future developers
Popular meetups for youth and blockchain/crypto entrepreneurs hosted at educational institutions
Establish the first of its kind Education Institution, student and youth participatory stake pool
Empower young people and the future entrepreneurs to engage with technology and tools that can uplift them and their communities

Budget:

Human Resources and know how : Taking care of the pool but also the education of people to the blockchain (Cardano) technology and the animation of activities around the blockchain (~ 500 USD/ month)

Hardware: Linux Server: $750; two cloud relays at $350

Raspberry Pi4 (8GB) for educational purposes

Backup energy :

A good solar panel is ~300 USD

batteries ~ 100 USD

power stabiliser~100 USD

Internet :

We need 3 IPs ~ 100 USD

backup connection~ 50 USD : we would be using a secondary internet provider.

Unexpected costs : $250

$5000*2 = $10000

Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation:

Capture stories to create a student led article and video of the experience in each Educational Institute.

Photographs and videos. To make 1 short video (10 minutes approx) and 1 article on the journey of each SPO and its stakeholders - $250*2 = $500

Attend / Lead a Breakout room in Catalyst Swarm to engage with Cardano Community from each Educational Institution

Total costs: $10500

Roadmap:

If successfully funded:

From November 2021 - January 2022 (3 months):

Acquire support and know-how on stake pool creation;
Acquire server for local producing node;
Document server set up through informational videos;
Set up secured server room with redundant power and internet;
Run two cloud instances for relays;
Run block producing node

From January- March 2022 (2 months):

Complete promotional videos on the set up;
The two institutions will promote the use of blockchain in their respective cities;
Recruit stake delegators and promote the acquisition of Ada among local businesses;
Trained managers of the local node to make recorded presentation in auditoriums;
Articles on each institution's journey

From April 2022:

Ideally mint first blocks and generate rewards;
Allocate generated revenues (3% margin) to maintenance, promotion videos and student union treasury;
Produce monthly updates on the stake pool and organize guided tours to interested blockchain enthusiasts.

Risks/Mitigation:

Internet Interruptions to the producing nodes: 3 Internet Providers will be connecting the producing node to the internet
Power Outage: Solar panels can help stabilize the power
Lower Pledge: Institutions will pledge 25K of Ada each for the stake pool should they be supported
Sustainability of the stake pool: Student unions will produce promotional videos for the stake pool on YouTube and grow the Cardano Community

Team:

Wada UN SDG and Education Coordinator - Razali Samsudin

Razali is an Educator, Editor, Digital Economy, Blockchain & Sustainability Researcher, Social Entrepreneur, Catalyst Proposal Mentor, Co-Founder of Sustainable ADA & Catalyst School Core Member

https://www.linkedin.com/in/razali-samsudin/

Wada Business Initiatives & Democratic Republic of the Congo Hubs Oversight Lead - Frederic Samvura (Genty)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric-samvura-907aa53b/

Wada Ivory Coast - Malik Koné. https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/malikkone

and Wada team

https://wadalliance.org/about-us/

Supporting articles and documents: