Cardano Community Center Cape Town

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

In an increasingly digital world, Africa is playing catch-up. Data costs on the continent are among the highest globally, and connecting to wi-fi can be problematic. Input Output (IOG) has been active in Africa since 2017, and Cardano has a passionate community across the continent. Nonetheless, there are few dedicated spaces where Africans can gather, share, learn and develop opportunities and possibilities provided by the Cardano ecosystem. 

According to Trading Economics, South Africa is the most developed country in Africa, with a GDP of $329.53 billion in 2021. However, South Africa's unemployment rate is currently at an estimated 46.2%. Still, Africa's most industrialized economy could grow by 2% in 2022 and 2.1% in 2023.

Our Solution

A venue where artists & creators, Cardano-curious, newcomers, and Cardano enthusiasts alike from all around the world can gather and: 

Receive free education around Cardano, NFTs, and Blockchain, in general, to facilitate onboarding and recruiting artists into the ecosystem, including but not limited to:

• What is an NFT, isn't it just a JPG, and what's the value
• How to open a wallet
• How to Mint an NFT
• How do I get my art on Cardano
• What are Drop Sites
• Which programs do I use, and many more. 

The Center will be a space where everyone can:

• Experience original NFT artwork by OG's and emerging artists 
• Learn how to create quality NFTs with metadata
• Newcomers and experienced Cardano community members can connect
• Engage in conversation and build a community

The Cardano Community Center will provide access to a curriculum filled with training materials and teaching to go with it. The current information around Cardano and NFTs and the practical aspects for those not technically capable is fragmented. Bringing together the community with experts will facilitate adoption and engagement with Cardano in Africa. 

Artists and collectors sometimes want that personal touch. The easiest way to onboard someone is by demonstrating how to use the tools. People are scared of trying out new technology, especially if it involves money.

In Cape Town, there is no such center, nor is there a go-to online resource with enough information to guide anyone to Cardano adoption in a simplified way. It's overwhelming, to say the least. Most importantly, there's nobody you can go to guide you through the process and mentor you, and there's certainly not a location you can go to to get free education and onboarding assistance. 

The CCC aims to be the go-to gathering place, showcase space, and training facility with an evolving curriculum designed around onboarding artists and Cardano-curious into the community. 

On top of being a permanent training facility, the CCC will develop the space as a dedicated venue for showcasing Cardano art, culture, and technology in Cape Town. This will be the home of Cardano-focused knowledge sharing, education, and social/cultural and economic exchange in Cape Town, including:

• Hosting of events 
• Exhibitions 
• Advertised training sessions
• Awards 
• Other Cardano-related events (meetups)

• Showcasing Cardano NFTs 
• OG pieces 
• Up-and-coming artist NFTs 

You can read more on our dedicated Catalyst Project Proposal page on our website here - https://www.theartbank.io/catalyst-proposal

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

Artists all want to learn how to enter the new digital economy, and they need to learn about the new toolset that helps them digitize their art and market globally. Our solution aims to address the aforementioned challenges. 

Digital ecosystems are powerful platforms for social and economic empowerment. However, many digital ecosystems lack the rich benefits of in-person experiences. Curated ‘real-world’ venues can facilitate deeper, richer community interaction, engagement, formalized curriculums and training materials, and value creation.

MIT’s Human Dynamics Lab spent hundreds of hours tracking performance drivers across industries by collecting data from electronic badges that covered everything from tone of voice to body language. The results showed unequivocally that the most valuable communication is done in person and that typically 35 percent of the variation in a given team’s performance was explained by the number of times members actually spoke face-to-face.

To track our success, we will actively measure and display:

• the total number of visitors to CCC
• new wallets registered
• number of NFTs minted by new artists
• completed surveys submitted and the subsequent results, and more on our dedicated project website here - https://www.theartbank.io/catalyst-proposal

The business plan, operating manuals, and procedures will be published on open source to facilitate adoption and development in other locations across Africa (and globally). 

There’s no reason there can’t be a Cardano Community Center in every major city in Africa, Europe, and every continent, for that matter.

Africa is full of unique talent and doesn’t need to continue on the path of stereotyping everything to match traditional avenues of “African” fundraising or art. Instead, the CCC will facilitate the education process to assist Africans in Africa in conceptualizing and leading innovation in an ecosystem that affords anyone involved the opportunity to level the playing field with freedom of creation. Particularly in the Cardano ecosystem.

What have we already accomplished, and how much has been spent out of pocket before the proposal?

The Art Bank has been promoting Artists and Art from day one and coupling with other initiatives like The Monet Society to create an educational curriculum. We've co-sponsored events including a recent NFT event in Barcelona with The Art Suite. In addition, we’ve worked with artists to apply NFTs to their real-world projects, create novel ideas, and turn them into viable business models. 

We're interviewing artists and headlining them on our website as well as promoting, buying, and holding their art, some examples are below:

Charles Machin - Eternal Chaos

Hookman - Block Clocks

Currently, The Art Bank is spending: 

$27,500 on Content Creation & Research per month - The Art Bank has a team of 4 full-time staff dedicated to creating educational content, including educational videos, artist interviews, blogs, explainer content, comparison write-ups, and more. This content will form the foundation of the curriculum for the CCC. 

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

Risks:

• The main risk lies in the business model not reaching a self-sufficient state and that the level of company investment required to sustain the business model becomes too high. Any startup has this risk regarding physical spaces and retail and unforeseen global circumstances, i.e., Covid lockdowns and travel restrictions.

• Mitigating Risks - employing the best-fit team with the relevant experience to make a startup self-sufficient with a limited budget. Hands-on presence at the CCC’s physical location by the TAB team. 

Challenges:

• Securing a suitable location and negotiating a favorable rental agreement for a set period of time with renewal and future purchasing options. 
• Interviewing and employing the best-fit candidates for the CCC locally.

To mitigate these challenges, we would:

• Use our real-estate contact in Cape Town to facilitate the process, draw up any contracts and ensure we’re taking the correct steps to secure the most suitable location primed for success. 
• The Art Bank will spend time onboarding and training staff from scratch, ideally people already in the Cardano community, but not limited to it. 

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

Our product roadmap for 2022/23 and onwards will focus on these key deliverables: 

• We aim to introduce between 50-100 new users per month at the CCC (new wallets registered, NFTs minted, trading in ADA, etc.)
• CCC facility used to host one large art, blockchain, or crypto event per month and 4 to 6 smaller events or workshops (educational, NFT auctions, whitelisting events, art unveiling, etc.)
• Completed surveys submitted, assessed, and reported compiled into quarterly reports on open source (skills assessment, insights into onboarding, perceived barriers v.s actual onboarding to provide tangible feedback to the service providers and development community in Cardano)
• Positive mainstream media coverage on 30+ media outlets 
• A release of the operational guide and accompanying digital content about the CCC release one year after opening

Managing workload

Fund 9 will be the first time for The Art Bank to propose in Catalyst. We are submitting two proposals to this Fund in two categories. Although it’s in two separate categories the proposals are closely related and one can strongly support the other. The two proposals form part of a comprehensive rollout plan between The Art Bank and Monet Society in supporting artists and art in the Cardano ecosystem and bridging the gap in education and resources required to grow adoption and utility, starting in Africa. 

We have a decentralized and diversely skilled team operating across several time zones. However, three of our core team members are located in Cape Town on hand to lead the project setup and rollout when funded. Our versatility and the extensive network we’ve built up over the years, particularly in Africa, equips us with the tools to successfully take on both projects simultaneously if both projects are funded. 

Here is a link to our Catalyst page on our website detailing our approach in more detail - https://www.theartbank.io/catalyst-proposal 

Timeline of the rollout

Month 1:

1. Location planning and design; Marketing:

1. Negotiate Lease
2. Three spaces have already been identified. Need to negotiate lease agreement and select venue.
3. Marketing 
4. Produce marketing collateral and initiate a campaign 
5. Website 
6. Social media 
7. Stakeholder and community engagement 

Month 2:

1. Improvements/Staffing
2. Design
3. Complete drawings/plan for design and fit-out of the chosen space. This may include refining plans for painting, signage, carpentry, lighting, audio, furniture, and other equipment.
4. Procurement and Fitout
5. Complete procurement and fit-out work
6. Hire staff
7. Training gurus x 1
8. Service x 2
9. Cleaning and maintenance x 1

Month 3

1. Opening 
2. Soft Launch 
3. Operations, refinement 

Month 4

1. Grand opening
2. Event, launching of Artist Onboarding Documentary and NFT Art show.

Month 5 Onwards

1. Ongoing operations 
2. Training facility with trainers six days a week (Sundays open but no training) 
3. Events
4. Use % of profits to support the art community and keep the doors open
5. Operating manuals and other documents are made available open-source and physically accessible at CCC
6. Reporting 
7. Continuous: Reporting back to the Cardano community via blog, newsletter
8. 12-month impact report

We have contracted with Monet Society to provide regular social and training events, including: 

• Having a training guru on-site to assist with questions around how to develop, learn about, and create with Cardano 
• Regular training sessions on Cardano-related topics
• Social events such as art exhibits and other creative events.
• Live interviews and Q&A sessions with Cardano creators, developers, and personalities.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Development budget to set up and run the Cardano Community Center in Cape Town Year One

Location Costs: Rent, Security Deposit, Utilities, Renovation for year one $35,000 

Staffing: 2 x fulltime employees trained by TAB as Cardano Trainers - $31,200

              2 x Part-time staff, cleaner and maintenance $5000

Total: $71,200

Hardware for Art Display at CCC

12 x Display Screens x $1000 = $12,000

10 x Projectors x $400 = $4,000

Total: $16,000

Marketing & Business Development Budget

Videos, Short Documentary, Twitter, Discord, Traditional Online & Print Media

Community events for soft launch and launch

Total: $12,800 

Total = $100,000

TAB will be responsible for onboarding and training staff and creating a detailed curriculum. This is not added to the budget above. As mentioned earlier in the proposal, TAB is currently spending $25,000 on content creation & research per month with a team of 4 full-time staff dedicated to creating educational content, including educational videos, artist interviews, blogs, explainer content, and comparison write-ups, and more.

This content will form the foundation of the curriculum for the CCC, and the TAB staff will invest a set amount of time each month dedicated to creating supplementary content for the CCC. No salary for any TAB team member will be drawn from funding. 

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

The CCC team has over 100 years of combined experience establishing and successfully operating community and industry-driven venues and events. 

Aaron Arfman - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-arfman-cfa-1209a95/ 

Cardano expert, digital art collector since 2018

Dee Boshoff - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dee-boshoff-53818393/

Marketing guru and local Capetonian

Murray Walker - https://www.linkedin.com/in/murray-clive-walker-59b9b1174/ 

NFT expert, collector, marketing, events manager, and local Capetonian

John-Patrick van Rensburg - https://www.linkedin.com/in/provident/  

Franchise co-founder of Burger Bistro, Account-based marketing expert, event planner, and local Capetonian 

David Harris - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidharris1/ 

Cafes, bars, music, and events (Aga Inn, Osaka; Pow Wow Cafe (Niagara), Ultrafuture (Hong Kong), Cafe Philos (Shenzhen)

Sergecal_One - Artistic Advisor https://www.instagram.com/sergical_one/

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

Yes. Africa is only getting started and what we're doing has the potential to be replicated across the continent.

[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?

The dedicated CCC website will display all the key metrics and progress as open-source information. This includes an open-source directly to company financials linked to Xero accounting software for any transactions outside the blockchain.  

Key metrics to measure

• Total number of visitors to CCC per week
• New wallets registered per month 
• Number of NFTs minted by new artists
• Completed surveys submitted
• The number of positive reviews (or overall review rating, via Yelp, etc.)
• Number of followers on social media
• Number of events held 
• Number of newsletter subscribers 
• Number of projects initiated 
• Positive mainstream media coverage
• The number of NFTs displayed at the CCC per month
• Impact Studies research on artists onboarded at the CCC, ideally with a filming aspect to document the stories and progress.

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

Success is proving the concept, with open-source evidence speaking for itself. In turn, creating the first sustainable operating model for Cardano Community Centers into a replicable business model to be deployed across Africa and potentially the rest of the world. 

The CCC becomes the de facto meetup venue for the Cardano community in South Africa and a destination for all Cardano members worldwide. 

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

Entirely new.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

SDG Goals

Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

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 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

#proposertoolsdg