Launching Landano on Mainnet

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

The Landano dApp allows marginalized people with land rights to create and manage their land records via an easy-to-use mobile interface and our Open Cadastral Map initiative. Landano is a true, Africa-focused RealFi solution that is informed by on-the-ground requirements from pilot projects in Ghana, Mozambique, and Kenya. 

Our land records are managed in a standards-compliant record-keeping system that includes notarizing documents as NFTs on the Cardano blockchain. Using a shared, auditable ledger like the Cardano blockchain improves transparency and prevents fraud. Having reliable proof of land rights will provide tenant farmers in sub-Saharan Africa with the confidence to make long-term investments in their farmland.

Furthermore, Landano land records will be used as trustworthy DeFi primitives for mortgages, business loans, leases, and crop insurance, opening the door to financial mobility for the estimated 1 billion people in the Global South that have land rights but no documentation to prove that they do.

The Landano project has followed an agile software development project, informed by on-the-ground use case analysis, to create a Minimum Viable Product. This MVP is currently maintained as a Mendix low-code platform application and interacts with the Cardano Testnet.

This Fund 9 Project Catalyst grant will enable the Landano team to refactor the MVP into a true Web3 architecture that includes a transition from the current username/password login to wallet-based authentication and verifiable credentials via the IAMX.id wallet solution.

We will refactor the MVP’s client/server architecture to decentralize the storage of all supporting documents on the Arweave platform. We will also transition from server-based processing of the application’s business logic to WASM-executable code, the final step in true decentralization of our off-chain infrastructure.

Finally, we will update our MVP’s pre-Vasil, Plutus v1 code to take advantage of the Vasil hard fork, Plutus v2 improvements. At that time, we will be ready for the beta launch of the Landano solution on Cardano mainnet.

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

The goal of the Dapps, Products and Integrations Challenge is to launch more novel and viable products on Cardano to increase its adoption rate and user base.

Landano is a high-impact, quality dApp that will increase the utility and adoption of Cardano on Day One of going live on Mainnet. Our community-based pilot projects and MVP software development have proven that Landano is a viable product that is primed to attract a large user base because it provides solutions for long-standing land management issues while also providing a clear path forward into upward financial mobility for highly-motivated but marginalized people.

We have already collaborated with the IAMX.id and Empowa.io teams to plan the integration of our respective land records, self-sovereign identity, and mortgage lending solutions which are all designed to be sensitive to the on-the-ground needs of rural poor in sub-Saharan Africa. These integrations will drive exponential adoption of our respective Cardano-based solutions.

More significantly, our collaboration with the CaVaTeCo project will result in the minting of Landano NFTs for 80,000 new users which, as far as we know, will represent the single largest Cardano on-boarding after IOG’s own initiatives.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

RISK: Landano NFTs are not recognized as legitimate land records with legal weight.

MITIGATION: The Landano team and advisors includes international experts in the field of electronic record-keeping and digital evidence, including the leading African records scholar, Dr. Shadrack Katuu. The system is designed to be a next-generation, best-of-breed records management platform that is already garnering separate interest from the archives and digital preservation sector. Landano collaborators and advisors include local lawyers with expertise in constitutional land rights and practices. Most importantly, the Landano project has established practical relationships with local land commissioners and community leaders who have the authority to approve documentation and who have indicated their approval of the Landano methodology and infrastructure.

RISK: Shortage of Haskell developers.

MITIGATION: Landano has a strong working relationship with MLabs which provides a flexible work force of the Cardano community's most respected Plutus developers.

RISK: Software development runs behind schedule and over-cost.

MITIGATION: The Landano co-founders have over 35 years combined history in the practice of Agile, open-source software development and leading teams of developers. They have each been responsible for the delivery of enterprise-grade software solutions that are in production at hundreds of large organizations around the world. The project follows a documented SCRUM methodology that closely monitors available human and financial resources to ensure that core features will be delivered on time and within budget.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

After 2 months

• Graphic design overhaul of the MVP product
• React-based web and smartphone dApp interface
• Internationalization and localization of the dApp interface
• Refactor client/server MVP to use decentralized Arweave storage for off-chain documents

After 4 months

• Refactor MVP NFT minting code to use post-Vasil, Plutus v2
• IAMX.id wallet integration
• Publish Landano tokenomics policy

After 6 months

• Refactor client/server MVP to execute business logic on locally-deployed WASM runtimes
• Feature-complete user manual
• First Landano NFT minted on Cardano Mainnet
• Regularly scheduled batch minting of NFTs from Ghana and Mozambique pilots

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Requirements analysis and end-user testing: $22,000

Graphic design: $6,000

Software development and quality assurance: $92,000

Documentation: $8,000

Tokenomics design: $4,000

Server infrastructure: $6,000

Cardano NFT minting fees: $40,000

Arweave storage fees: $20,000

Community outreach and support: $6,000

Publishing updates and research: $8,000

Professional fees (e.g. legal and accounting): $10,000

Project management (e.g. travel costs, team meetings, office expenses): $14,000

Total: $236,000

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

Peter Van Garderen, System Architect and Project Manager - Landano

Peter is co-founder of Landano. He is a professional archivist and a world-renowned expert in the field of digital records management. He is the creator of the most widely deployed open-source archives management applications in the world and a long-time decentralization advocate. Peter has designed software architectures and led development teams for over 15 years.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/petervangarderen/

Dorus Van Der Kroft, Software Lead - Landano

Dorus is co-founder of Landano. He is an expert consultant for the Mendix low code platform and a full stack developer with over twenty years of industry experience delivering projects from start to finish. His broad set of software engineering skills have been used in start-ups and large enterprises.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorus/

George Flerovsky, Delivery Manager - MLabs

George manages a portfolio of projects at MLabs including decentralized exchanges, governance, auctions, yield optimization, and on-chain analytics. He has been a Haskell developer since 2015 and has a deep knowledge of the Cardano consensus protocol, smart contract framework, and network stack. George creates and manages MLabs project teams to support Cardano-based projects like Landano.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-flerovsky-01943836/

Simon Norfolk, Project Lead - CaVaTeCo

Simon is a lawyer originally from the UK and now a Mozambican national who operates Terra Firma as a land rights consultancy. He has been involved in African land tenure issues for the past two decades. Simon saw the opportunity provided by Mozambique's unique land law and took action to implement the CaVaTeCo system. He has since helped 80,000 rural Mozambicans declare their land rights. Simon is eager to scale out a secure platform for 20 million more Mozambicans and help them connect these declarations to Cardano-based DeFi opportunities via Landano.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonnorfolk/

Dr. Shadrack Katuu, Advisor and Researcher - Landano

Shadrack has over two decades experience working internationally as a digital records management expert. This includes several agencies within the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations. Shadrack is based out of Nairobi, Kenya and is a much sought after consultant, conference speaker, and published author in the field of electronic record-keeping, in particular within the African context.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/skatuu/

Abdul Razak, Software Developer - Landano

Razak is a coder, GIS analyst, and geospatial engineer based in Kumasi, Ghana. He has over 10 years experience developing software products and implementing geospatial tools. He is an active member of the Wada Alliance which promotes Cardano adoption throughout Africa.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/razakalhassan/

Iuliia Tcibulnikova, Software Developer - Landano

Iuliia is a Fullbright scholar and GIS engineer who specializes in geospatial systems and web3 architectures. She comes to the Landano project straight from MLabs, the Cardano blockchain's most respected and trusted software development firm.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/iuliia-tcibulnikova-9b5119213/

Christian Koch, Systems Analyst and Researcher - Landano

Christian is an archival science graduate student at the University of British Columbia who is working on blockchain, record-keeping, and AI technology research. His professional experience includes the InterPares trustworthy AI research project, Peace Corps development projects in Zambia, and web archiving for the Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online initiative.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-koch-5a070120a/

Matthew Szurkowski, Software Developer - Landano

Matthew is a Python and Javascript developer that brings full-stack development and React expertise to the Landano project.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-szurkowski/

Nana Safo, Community Ambassador - Landano

Nana is a Landano community ambassador and software developer based in Accra, Ghana. He is an active member of the Wada Alliance which promotes Cardano adoption throughout Africa.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nana-kwadwo-safo-30114517a/

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

If we are fortunate enough to be funded in Fund9 we expect this to be our last Project Catalyst proposal. From that point forward Landano will be a bootstrapped project that is designed around a sustainable cost-model that includes transaction fees and possibly an ISPO and/or ICO for further post-seed software development and maintenance.

We'd also like to point out that we are not using the common Project Catalyst strategy to submit multiple proposals from the same project at the same time in a single funding round. In our view, this is not necessary given the significant size of the budget available in this current challenge. We realize we are not asking for a trivial amount but want to be clear that this represents our total ask for Fund9.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

We will measure and report on the following KPIs:

• Completion of the deliverables listed in the roadmap above
• Number of commits in the code repository
• Number of resolved issues in the code repository
• Number of data points added to our Open Cadastral Map
• Number of words in online user documentation
• Monthly progress reports
• Number of social media updates
• Number of social media follower and engagements
• Number of newsletter subscribers
• Number of NFTs minted on Cardano Mainnet

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

Success for the “Launching Landano on Mainnet” project will be minting the first legitimate land right NFT on the Cardano blockchain’s mainnet, followed soon after by regularly scheduled batch uploads of NFTs from our Ghana and Mozambique pilot projects.

Success will also include deploying as much of our platform infrastructure in a truly decentralized architecture after the six months of software development, followed by a roadmap for full decentralization, including project governance.

Success for Landano and the Cardano community at large will be the significant number of new users that this project will on-board into our ecosystem.

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

This project is a continuation of our Fund 7 proposal submitted in the Nation Building Dapps challenge.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

SDG goals:

• End poverty in all its forms everywhere
• End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
• Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Reduce inequality within and among countries

SDG subgoals:

• By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance
• Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
• By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment
• Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries
• Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all

Key Performance Indicator (KPI):

• Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, (a) with legally recognized documentation, and (b) who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and type of tenure
• Volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size
• Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status
• Proportion of adults (15 years and older) with an account at a bank or other financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider
• Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law

#proposertoolsdg