Cardano for African impact ventures

[IMPACT]

Summary

This proposal offers an unparalleled opportunity to raise awareness of Cardano in Africa through the global Impact Hub Network and its largest program, Accelerate2030. Impact Hub is the world's largest network focused on building entrepreneurial communities for impact at scale, with 16,000+ members in 100+ locations around the world. Accelerate2030 is a global program supporting entrepreneurs from developing & emerging markets to scale their solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals. Launched out of Geneva in 2016 by Impact Hub Geneva and UNDP, it’s been implemented in 33 countries (10 in Africa), supporting nearly 500 entrepreneurs. 

This proposal aims to better understand impact entrepreneurs’ needs across Africa, share information on blockchain technology, and develop solutions on the Cardano blockchain based on identified needs.

1. Survey a pool of 100+ impact driven entrepreneurs in innovation ecosystems in Africa, facilitated by local Impact Hubs. Project locations could include Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe or Zambia, and will be solidified upon project inception. The survey will explore the appetite and needs of these entrepreneurs when it comes to the use of blockchain (and Cardano particularly), especially in terms of improving traceability, supply chain management, identification and payments, impact measurement, etc. 
2. Deliver 2-3 virtual introduction workshops on how impact entrepreneurs can benefit from the use of blockchain in their businesses & foster adoption of Cardano in Africa. These workshops will be offered to a pool of 100+ ventures across project locations and delivered in partnership with Cardashift, Catalyst School, Sustainable ADA, and other Cardano Collective for Impact Network stakeholders. These workshops will offer a space for participants to ask questions and share feedback and insights with blockchain experts and other impact entrepreneurs across various project locations. Working with local Impact Hubs will help ground the workshops in local realities and foster greater understanding and enthusiasm for blockchain in emerging innovation ecosystems. These workshops will serve a dual purpose of informing entrepreneurs of the benefits of blockchain technology and also facilitating increased adoption of Cardano across Africa. 
3. Identify a group of (up to) 5 entrepreneurs across project locations to do in-depth case studies on the use potential of Cardano in their businesses, with a focus on how blockchain can help increase their impact, improve their operations and/or access finance. Entrepreneurs will be supported to integrate Cardano into their businesses through Project Catalyst, and ideally will eventually become community champions that can support other entrepreneurs in their ecosystem benefit from Cardano & blockchain technology. Learnings and insights will be shared with the online Cardano community and communicated publicly through Accelerate2030’s social media channels and partner networks to raise awareness in Africa and beyond.

The proposal is a combination between a Feasibility Study and a business-oriented training to set a strong basis for the further development of relevant Cardano business solutions in Africa. 

This project will address the challenge’s primary goal of expanding Cardano adoption in Africa by engaging with an innovative and untapped market of impact entrepreneurs within the Accelerate2030 & Impact Hub global network. Accelerate2030 works with entrepreneurs around the world who are solving some of the world’s most pressing environmental and social problems, but many of them are not aware of the potential of blockchain technology. This project will gather insights and data on these entrepreneurs’ needs, introduce them to blockchain & Cardano, and explore concrete Cardano use cases that can be shared and replicated by other entrepreneurs across innovation ecosystems in Africa and beyond. Ultimately, this project aims to provide entrepreneurs with the tools and support to integrate Cardano and use it as a force for good to benefit the people and problems they serve. 

Metrics we will use to measure our success:

• # of African companies surveyed to understand their needs for Cardano-based solutions
• # of African companies introduced to blockchain and Cardano
• # of use cases developed with African companies for solutions on the Cardano blockchain 
• # of audience reached in a communications campaign in project locations

The overall process will lead to the development of highly relevant, needs-based innovative products and services that increase efficiency, transparency, and stakeholder engagement as well as expand business to new areas in Africa.

The process we outline starts with a survey, and collecting a satisfactory number of responses is usually quite a challenge as people are not always easily drawn to answer to surveys when there is no concrete benefit attached to them. To offset this challenge we are framing the survey as a first step to being invited into a series of workshops and an opportunity to join Project Catalyst, so it would be a way to access learning and connections following the survey. We also have the benefit of local Impact Hubs’ ongoing relationships with their community of entrepreneurs, and we hope this will increase survey responses.

[FEASIBILITY]

Project Roadmap

• May 2022: Project inception  

Solidify project locations, which could include Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe or Zambia. During the project inception phase we will also design the survey, workshops and selection criteria for participating companies in the next phases - in collaboration with the Project Catalyst team. 

• June - July 2022: Launch of Survey & Application Process

Launching a survey across a pool of 100+ Accelerate2030 companies to collect insights about the current status of use of blockchain technologies, and their needs in using blockchain. The survey will be framed as an application to join an opportunity to learn about blockchain, particularly Cardano and join the Project Catalyst and unlock potential funding opportunities.  

• August - September: Intro workshops on Blockchain and Cardano

Based on the insights from the survey, in partnership with Cardashift, Catalyst School, Sustainable ADA, and other Cardano Collective for Impact Network stakeholders, 2-3 workshops will be delivered for 30+ companies who express interest in integrating blockchain in their businesses. Please note this number is a ballpark estimate for the pilot.

• August - September: Selection of (up to) 5 companies to integrate Cardano in their business and develop in-depth use cases that can be shared with the Cardano & Accelerate2030 communities

Up to 5 companies will be supported to integrate Cardano into their businesses, with a focus on how blockchain can help increase their impact, improve their operations and/or access finance. In-depth use cases will be developed and shared with the Cardano and Accelerate2030 communities. These entrepreneurs will also ideally eventually become community champions that can support other entrepreneurs in their ecosystem benefit from Cardano & blockchain technology.

Main deliverables and outputs:

• Co-designed survey among Accelerate2030 and Project Catalyst, launched across 100+ companies in project locations
• 2-3 virtual Intro Workshops to blockchain and Cardano to entrepreneurs in selected project locations in Africa 
• Identification & use cases developed with (up to) 5 high-impact green/circular companies integrating blockchain in their business, as a showcase of how Cardano can deliver needs-based solutions to entrepreneurs

Design, Launch & Analysis of Survey: $5000 

Communications campaign launching the survey & raising awareness of Cardano & Blockchain in project locations: $2500 (amount may vary depending on number of project locations - target: 2-3 locations)

Organise the design and delivery of 2-3 virtual Intro workshops on Blockchain and Cardano in project locations: $2500 

Organise selection & support of (up to) 5 companies to integrate Cardano in their business & develop use-cases: $10,000 

Total: $20,000 USD

Accelerate2030 Global Team: https://accelerate2030.net/team/

Please note: once project locations are solidified we will also work with local Impact Hub teams in selected locations (which could include Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe or Zambia.)

Ljupka Mitrinovska

Co-founder and Global Program Manager of Accelerate2030, Impact Hub Geneva

Inspired by the great potential of entrepreneurs, Ljupka has dedicated 10+ years in the area of innovation and start-up support. Since 2016 she has been working at Impact Hub Geneva, involved in building and managing Accelerate2030. Prior to Accelerate2030, Ljupka has worked in different organizations in the NGO, public and private sector across Europe.

Alexandra 'Santu' Boëthius

Co-founder of Impact Hub Geneva & Lausanne and Strategic Lead of Accelerate2030

Santu Boethius is the co-founder of Impact Hub Geneva and Impact Hub Lausanne, part of the leading community of social innovation and entrepreneurship in Switzerland and across the world. She initiated Accelerate2030 in 2016 with her team and partners, and is driving the strategic development of the program. She has spoken at various fora such as the UN General Assembly, and the World Investment Forum and holds an MSc in political science from the London School of Economics.

Emily Skovran

Impact Management & Program Development Coordinator at Accelerate2030, Impact Hub Geneva

Emily has been working with the Accelerate2030 Global team at Impact Hub Geneva since 2019. Her work focuses on impact measurement, project management, program coordination, partnerships for the SDGs, and wellbeing. Prior to Accelerate2030, Emily worked in non-profit and educational settings in Singapore, Thailand, Switzerland, and the United States. Emily holds a master’s degree in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mala Henriques

Global Program Coordinator at Accelerate2030, based in Medellin, Colombia

Mala brings people, ideas and resources together to develop innovative, creative projects that tackle local and global inequalities to foster social justice. Originally from London, Mala has lived in Medellin, Colombia since 2013 where I have grown a powerful professional network through starting her own business and community, joining other local and international communities as well as attending and hosting a variety of events. Since joining Impact Hub in 2018, Mala has co-created, fundraised for and delivered several entrepreneurship support programs nationally and internationally, and has personally mentored and coached more than 20 impact entrepreneurs helping them reach their potential. Mala specializes in impact measurement, project management and program design, she is also an active member of Global Shapers Medellin.

Adaeze Nwadike

Communications Lead at Accelerate2030, based in Lagos, Nigeria

Adaeze Nwadike is a Digital Strategist from Lagos Nigeria who specialize in helping organizations develop and execute innovative digital marketing strategy. She discovered her passion for women’s empowerment at a young age, and is the founder of Airen Foundation, a non profit organization dedicated to creating holistic solutions to issues Nigerian women face, starting with maternal and infant mortality. She has a degree in Economics from Calvin University, Michigan.

While we are new to the community we are already in contact with Cardano Foundation and various catalyst communities such as Cardano4Climate, SustainableADA and the Catalyst school. We are looking forward to further collaboration with like minded people and communities. We are also aware ofto projects such as Cardashift which could have synergies with our startup community.

[AUDITABILITY]

The Accelerate2030 team has extensive experience in impact management, having managed complex logframes with partners in development agencies, and a dedicated impact management team. 

At project inception, we will set up a monitoring and evaluation plan to track the progress based on the project plan and KPIs outlined below.

Metrics we will use to measure our success:

• of African companies surveyed to understand their needs for Cardano-based solutions
• # of African companies introduced to blockchain and Cardano
• # of use cases developed with African companies for solutions on the Cardano blockchain 
• # of audience reached in a communications campaign in project locations

A successful project for us would be one where we can get a significant number of responses from the initial survey in order to build a learning and integration experience for African companies that is highly relevant to their needs. In an ideal scenario we will be able to educate a significant number of entrepreneurs and have a significant group take their first steps in integrating Cardano in their businesses, however target numbers are difficult to estimate as this is a pilot project. Finally, we will develop (up to) 5 use-cases with high-impact green/circular companies integrating blockchain in their business, showcasing how Cardano can deliver needs-based solutions to entrepreneurs in Africa.

N/A

SDG Rating

SDG Goals

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all 

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation 

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development