Celo Camp 2025: Season 0 Proposal

[upright]

Author: Upright

Budget Request: $299,040 cUSD and 223,098 CELO

Proposal Type: CPG Funding Request | Project Incubation

H1 2024 Report: Celo Camp 2024 H1: MiniPay Launchpad Post-Camp Report

Abstract

Following the success of Celo Camp previous cohorts, the Upright team is dedicated to bringing Celo Camp batch 10 to the Celo community to support multiple initiatives and use-cases namely: Minipay, CxAI and Divvi.

The goal of this initiative is to guide the entrepreneurial journey of high quality projects towards building impactful businesses on Celo while connecting participants with other up and coming founders, protocols, experts, mentors and funding opportunities.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with initiatives such as Verda Ventures, Prezenti, Celo Africa DAO, Talent Protocol, CeLatam, KohCelo, Celo Europe DAO and more to come, which will enable us to deliver an impactful batch to the wider Celo community.

Key Program Updates

• Initiative timeframe: 4 months, aligned with the new Celo Governance Seasons schedule, beginning of March - end of June 2025
• 8 week acceleration program
• 8-12 teams onboarded to the program, 3-5 teams in the final stage of the cohort (see details in the schedule section below).
• Virtual and global
• Physical one day event where the graduates of the cohort can meet in person, create strategic collaborations and reflect on their camp experience.
• Similar to the previous batch, Upright will create and publish a shortlist of prioritized use cases as well as a detailed questionnaire to help teams determine their eligibility for the program. The shortlist will be based on feedback from CxAI, the MiniPay team, Divvi, Verda Ventures, Celo Foundation, community feedback and our learnings from the last cohort.

Focus Areas

Minipay
Support the planned global expansion of MiniPay by adding a global track for applicants going to market in emerging regions around the world.

The list of regions has already been mapped according to feedback from the Minipay team and will be finalized during the planning phase of the program.

Curation criteria:

• Prioritizing new use cases that are not covered by existing dApps on Minipay.
• Projects must have big market potential “for everyone, every day” in a given country at the least.

CxAI
Identifying and accelerating teams who are building AI agents to benefit humanity. We are looking for projects which are:

• User centric.
• Leveraging the robust Celo stack, partnerships and emerging open source frameworks to build decentralized AI solutions.
• Stripping away the high barriers of cost and central control. Drive inclusive prosperity and transform industries by making high-performance AI accessible to all.

Some examples for solutions include: Smart accounts for AI agents, autonomous agents for onchain FX trading, AI for fair distribution of assets with increased automation and speed, authenticating humans and more. The program is open to any new use case, which can power prosperity for all.

Divvi
We are looking for exceptional teams at UX and user acquisition who will deliver products which contribute to key metrics of existing on-chain protocols on Celo while using the Divvi framework to track and get rewarded for the incremental value add.

Let’s explore together how we can make the Web3 pie bigger by rewarding builders for their actions in a fully transparent way.

Camp Schedule Season 0 (March - end of June) 2025

Planning: In this stage we tailor the program’s curriculum to the go-to-markets, set up the program’s campaign and messaging, onboard mentors and partners, implement learnings from previous batches and soft launch the application phase.

Phase duration: 1 week.

Application phase (pre-camp):
Where we onboard teams, host live events, conduct dozens of 1:1 meetings and run group pitch sessions. Applications are open to teams from around the world. In this stage, our focus is on outreach and curation to ensure the most suitable and talented teams are onboarded to the program.

Phase duration: 1.5 months.

Celo Camp:
An 8-week virtual accelerator and mentorship program where teams receive guidance on how to build with CxAI, Divvi and MiniPay, as well as business and technology advice designed to help build and grow their startups.

The program will include both joint and region specific sessions, and incorporate alumni members as mentors. Celo Camp batch 10 is designed to enable founders to focus on their value proposition while learning about Celo’s unique features, product roadmap, and connect with other projects / contributors in the ecosystem.

The program includes two sections (4 weeks each):

Landmark A (8-12 teams)
Refine your product roadmap and go to market strategy, conduct user research, craft your pitch and build a lean MVP testing your product’s value proposition.

Landmark B
Tighten up your MVP, onboard early adopters and collect feedback, create your first on-chain traction.

Top graduates of Landmark B (up to 5 teams) will get a $5-25K investment offer from the Upright team as well as a fast track to Verda Ventures, Prezenti, Flori Ventures and other partners which at their own discretion invest in the top graduates of the program.

Accelerator Benefits and Perks:

• Virtual: Join the program remotely and meet founders from across the world.
• Mentorship: One-on-one guidance from industry experts at leading organizations, such as Opera, EchoVC, Borderless Capital, Hashed Emergent, Arca, MetaMask, a16z, NFX, Verda Ventures, Flori Ventures and many more.
• Workshops and events: Access to workshops, networking events, pitch and mindfulness sessions led by experts, mentors, investors, and partners.
• Technological support and integration: One-on-one meetings with Celo engineers.
• Celo Camp partner support: Access to products and services from camp partners including AWS, Hubspot, Tatum, Hacken, and more.
• Networking: Opportunities to connect with like-minded creators and entrepreneurs in the Celo community.
• Funding: A fast track to Celo grants and exposure to investors.
• Impact: Contribute to Celo’s mission of creating the conditions of prosperity — for everyone.

In this batch we plan to onboard: 8-12 teams, 8-12 mentors, 10-15 speakers and partners.

Phase duration: 2 months.

Launchpad Wrap Up: Includes selection of winning teams, due diligence and distribution of prizes, feedback collection and reporting, connecting teams with VC’s and other initiatives as well as curation and promotion of founder stories and videos.

Phase duration: 1 week.

In-person Event:
IRL event at the end of the camp experience to get all the graduates and contributors together for a day of workshops, perks and celebration of their accomplishment. This will be a great opportunity to form meaningful relationships and strategic collaborations with the cohort graduates.

Program KPIs

KPIs we will measure and report to the community at the end of each batch (twice a year):

• Number of projects which integrated with Minipay / CxAI partners and frameworks / Divvi protocol in a meaningful way
• Total Celo on-chain transactions & active users / addresses by alumni
• Total funds raised by alumni
• Total # of graduates who have successfully integrated with Celo including project pitch and live demo
• Net promoter score (NPS) - we want to ensure our MiniPay builders have a great experience, and turn into leaders in the Celo ecosystem and promoters of the program.
• Total active alumni open source repos

Success Metrics

The success metrics we believe to be appropriate for the upcoming cohort are:

• At least 1 high quality project integrated in a way which moves the needle for each one of the initiatives (Minipay, CxAI, Divvi)
• All graduates will demonstrate their integration with Celo
• Net promoter score (NPS) greater than 60
• At least 150 applicants with global distribution

The success metrics will be collected and made public at the end of the cohort.

*These success metrics are how we envision a successful batch and what we believe to be achievable based on our past results. Having said that, this specific program is fairly new and achieving these KPIs is not fully under our control and may vary based on market conditions, go-to market and the actual start date of the event among other factors. Our team will, as always, strive to maximize these KPIs.

Overall Allocation (March - end of June, 2025)

Upright is requesting a total of $299,040 cUSD and 223,098 CELO be authorized for the budget of Season 0.

The receiving address is 0xf3D173c38E4Ee44Afcf65692D5E02D350F0f2CE2

Item	Allocation
Operations & Marketing	$248,800
Investment in teams	$100,000
In-Person Event	$25,000

We’d love to hear from you

Let’s make season 0 a great cohort for founders and builders in the Celo ecosystem. We are open for feedback and happy to discuss the proposal with the community stakeholders in detail.

[Joan_DeRB]

hey @upright

Thank you for putting together this proposal and for your continued work in supporting builders within the Celo ecosystem. Celo Camp has been instrumental in fostering innovation, and it’s great to see plans for another strong cohort. I wanted to share a few thoughts on how this initiative could be further strengthened.

• On the focus areas (Minipay, CxAI, and Divvi), as you have mentioned, I believe Regional DAOs can play a key role in onboarding builders, supporting projects, and identifying real-world challenges that these technologies can help solve by having some boots on the ground. Leveraging these communities could expand outreach and ensure a strong pipeline of participants. We look forward to connecting through the Regional Council and Celo EU to contribute to this effort and help strengthen the ecosystem and your initiative.

• Additionally, I’d love to explore ways to strengthen the investor ecosystem around Celo. It’s clear how crucial investment is for the long-term success of alumni projects, ensuring they secure the right funding at the right time. From my personal experience, investment liquidity—whether through VC or debt—is key, and I would love to exchange ideas on this and explore potential collaborations to expand funding opportunities, onboarding new partners aligned with Celo’s values.

• Regardin the funding requested in $CELO, has there been any consideration of allocating a portion to engage in Celo governance? Given Upright’s key role in the ecosystem, continued participation—whether through a Celo Mondo profile or delegated voting—could further align efforts and strengthen ecosystem development.

• Finally, regarding the in-person event, could you share more details on where it will be held and how it will be structured? We’d love to support and explore ways to contribute to its success.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and seeing this initiative come to life!

[Chitty]

Celo Camp has nurtured high-quality projects, guiding them toward building impactful businesses on Celo. It has also connected participants with founders, protocols, experts, mentors, and funding opportunities.

Thank you for your support in bringing top builders and founders to the Celo ecosystem!

[opera_minipay]

Great to see Celo Camp returning with a refreshed, ambitious format!

We’re excited about the program’s evolution and the new opportunities this brings to builders within the ecosystem. Some past alumni have integrated seamlessly into MiniPay and continue to drive significant value for our users every day. The MiniPay team is committed to supporting the upcoming cohort through dedicated mentorship and providing opportunities for standout projects to find a home in MiniPay.
We look forward to collaborating with this new generation of builders and advancing the growth of the Celo ecosystem as a whole.

[LuukDAO]

Gm @upright

Overall, I’m a big fan of the past Celo Camp programs and see great value in this proposal and scope!

Sharing the same feedback I sent in DM.

For the Investment Share, I feel this line could be more justified if Celo Treasury gets direct exposure to the invested projects, but from my understanding, this is legally and operationally challenging. I would rather reduce the investment side from Celo, to for example a 5-25K range, instead of 25k fixed and increase the commitment from Verda / Flori.

For the in-person event, we might be able to organize this around an upcoming Celo Gather event in EU / Africa or Argetina sometime this year to reduce costs while providing an opportunity for the graduates to connect with the wider Celo ecosystem right away!

[Joan_DeRB]

Hey @LuukDAO

Thanks for also commenting on this post.

I’m completely aligned with your approach. Regarding the Investment Share, I feel this line could be more justified if the Celo Treasury had direct exposure to the invested projects. Celo Community Fund should start generating some form of yield to ensure a sustainable and effective runway for the long term.

Regarding the in-person event, I encourage you to connect with the CeLatam team, as I believe they are also interested in organizing a Celo Gather in Brazil. Whatever the case, it would be great to align all ecosystem stakeholders once again.

[upright]

Thanks for your feedback and support Joan, good points!

As for the Regional Council, investor ecosystem and governance voting, would love to learn more. Will DM you to discuss further.

Regarding the one day in-person event, the plan is to have it around EthCC / Celo Gather / Connect so participants can also attend existing Celo events. Whatever is left from the event budget can be allocated to graduates of Landmark B in the form of a scholarship / stipend to fly to the event.

The event schedule will include workshops, mindful group exercises and shared launch / dinner for the participants of the program, mentors and partners, with plenty of opportunity to network. Would love to explore ways you can contribute to the event / we can share resources!

[upright]

Appreciate the feedback and support Luuk!

Adjusting the investment to $5-25K instead of a fixed $25K ticket might be a good idea which will give us more flexibility as you mentioned. We’ll consider updating the proposal accordingly. Additionally, we’ll reach out to Verda and Flori Ventures for additional feedback on the investment part.

As for the in-person event, Yes! As mentioned in the reply to Joan, this is the goal. Is there a planned date for the upcoming Celo Gather event in EU?

[jackie]

Thanks for your support to builders in the ecosystem. The Valora/Divvi team is looking forward to partnering with you on this initiative!

[Prezenti.grants]

Great to see a proposal from @upright coming in! They have been a pillar of the community since genesis.

Top graduates of Landmark B (up to 5 teams) will get a $25K investment offer from the Upright team as well as a fast track to Verda Ventures, Prezenti, Flori Ventures, and other partners which at their own discretion invest in the top graduates of the program.

This is an interesting approach. Could you clarify what is meant by investment in this context? Specifically, is it structured as a direct grant, an equity or token agreement, or something else entirely? Understanding this would help align expectations and ensure transparency for participating teams.

Additionally, we deeply value the participation of teams from Upright in Prezenti and appreciate the insights of the Upright team. If a structured fast track process would add value to this initiative, we’d love to collaborate on defining what that looks like—ensuring it’s clear, fair, and beneficial for both programs.

Looking forward to continuing this conversation and supporting another strong cohort!

[upright]

Hey Luuk, we implemented your suggestion and updated the proposal to $5-25K per team while reducing the total investment budget to $100K.

[upright]

Thanks Prezenti team, appreciate your continuous support which has been a significant part in Celo Camp’s success.

As for the investment part, Upright will offer top graduates of Landmark B (up to 5 teams) a $5-25K investment in the form of a standard convertible note / token warrant. To clarify, accepting the offer is not a pre-requisite for participating in Landmark B.

We would love having a structured fast track to a Prezenti grant incorporated in the cohort, similar to the one we had in batch 9, which was very beneficial. Greatly appreciate the offer and look forward to working on the details with you.