[DRAFT] Celo Canada H2 2024 | Regional DAO

Governance Governance Proposals
1

Funding Request: Establishment of a Celo Regional Hub in Canada
Authors: @Supercoolkay, @Bimpsyy
Budget Request: cUSD 72,500
Proposal Type: CPG Funding Request | Regional DAO

Web3 adoption is currently very low in Canada, leaving significant untapped potential in the Canadian market that can benefit from Celo’s web3 solutions. Celo is a leading platform in the new digital economy, and it has potential to address various environmental and economic challenges in Canada thereby promoting financial inclusion and blockchain adoption.

The establishment of Celo Canada hub will provide visibility and foster innovation and growth of the Celo blockchain.

Objectives:

  • Community Engagement:

We want to create a vibrant community of developers, entrepreneurs, and users within Canada who are actively involved in Celo’s blockchain ecosystem. This will grow to become a perpetual group of blockchain enthusiasts that kickstarted their journey with the Celo network.

  • Spark Local Innovation

Our mission is to encourage the creation of decentralized applications with the use Celo stacks that are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of people living in Canada, solve problems attributed to specific Provinces and needs of local businesses.

  • Enhance Financial Accessibility

Use Celo’s innovative mobile-first blockchain platform to make financial services more accessible to underserved communities across Canada, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to participate in the digital economy.

  • Environmental Sustainability

Promote the use of Celo’s carbon-neutral blockchain technology to develop solutions that are not only effective but also environmentally sustainable, aligning with Canada’s green initiatives and goals.

Motivation

  • Lack of visibility: Celo has no presence in the Canada crypto/web3 ecosystem

  • Low blockchain adoption: The user base of web3 and blockchain technology in Canada is very low. Showcasing Celo to the large population in Canada will not only enhance Celo’s visibility but make Celo dominate the market as Canada’s native blockchain infrastructural provider.

  • High Cost of Remittances: Canadians and Immigrants finds it difficult and costly to make international financial transactions. Celo being a mobile-first web3 platform solves this problem with different defi applications built on Celo.

Overall, Canada is a developed country that has great potential and gaps that needs the solution of web3 service which Celo blockchain is capable of providing.

We propose to tackle the above identified problem by kickstarting with the following but not limited to:

  1. Workshop and Seminars: Organize workshops in 10 cities in Canada training them about web3 in relation to Celo and also training participants on how to build using Celo blockchain infrastructure.

Tentative Canada Focus Area: Toronto, Saskatchewan, Calgary.

KPI & Deliverables:

  • Achieve an average of 70 - 110 participants per city.

  • Educate over 1,000 participants about web 3 and blockchain in relation to Celo.

  • Train over 1,000 participants on how to use DeFi applications builts on Celo

  • Build a vibrant community in each City

  • Onboard 200 - 400 traditional developers to Celo

  • Train 50 - 100 developers on how to build using Celo

  • Organize 3 regional hackathon

  • Launch 10 new and existing projects to Celo mainnet.

  1. Hackathon programs: We will organize multiple hybrid hackathon programs focusing on climate neutral initiatives, DeFi, and developing products that address real-world problems using the Celo blockchain. These hackathons will provide developers with hands-on experience building with Celo through our workshop programs and offer existing projects the opportunity to integrate Celo stacks.

KPI & Deliverables:

  • Mandatory use of Celo sdk, Minipay SDK, and other Celo tools in the hackathon
  • Regular dev support & guidance for participants
  • Achieve a minimum of 50 participants per hackathon
  • Deploy 10 - 15 projects on Celo mainnet.
  • Provide continuous development support to participants post-hackathon
  • Interaction with Celo blockchain and developer toolkits
  1. Events partnership & sponsorship: Represent Celo at major events happening in Canada and boast brand visibility by communicating Celo’s core values.

KPIs & Deliverables

  • Represent Celo at 5 major conferences across Canada
  • Establish strategic partnership with 10 organizations including, protocols, institutions and like-minded communities
  • Sponsor and participate in 3 seminars or events per quarter
  • Onboard a minimum of 100 attendees from these events to Celo’s ecosystem.
  1. Curriculum & educational materials: Create curriculum on essential web3 concepts and guide about Celo, how to build Dapps, interaction with Celo apps, etc.

KPIs & Deliverables:

  • Create a comprehensive curriculum on web3 and Celo.
  • Engage at least 500 users with educational content within the first 6 months.
  • Develop a guide on how to use apps on Celo.
  • Educational material on potential impact of blockchain in Canada’s industries like Agric, healthcare, etc
  • Curriculum on how to get started with Celo
  • Educational material on to build on the blockchain in relation to Celo
  1. Content creation Website & Socials: Launch an official website, social channel for Celo Canada and also create compelling video and articles.

KPIs & Deliverables

  • Produce and share 5-10 video content pieces about Celo per quarter.
  • Host weekly twitter spaces and AMAs
  • Launch an official Celo Canada Website for social media channels
  • Publish 10 articles on high traffic blogs about latest advancement in Celo

Tentative Canada Province for H2 | 2024 : Toronto, Saskatchewan, Calgary.

Budget

Items Q3 Amount($) Q4 Amount($) Total Amount($)
Workshops & Seminars ($1,350 per city) 8,100 5,400 13,500
Event partnership & Sponsorship 6,000 4,000 10,000
Hackathon Prize 3,000 4,000 7,000
Content creation, Website & Socials 3,000 2,000 5,000
Operations & Remuneration 12,000 12,000 24,000
Traveling expenses & Accommodations 6,000 4,000 10,000
Curriculum and educational materials 1,500 1,500 3,000
Total 39,600 32,900 72,500

Tractions & Team members:

Team:

  • Abdulkareem Oyeneye: Lead
    He is an accomplished Project and Program Manager with extensive experience in driving growth and engagement within the blockchain and decentralized technology sectors. Proven track record of onboarding thousands of users, organizing high-impact conferences, workshops, and hackathons, and fostering strong community relations at leading organizations like Near Protocol, Solana and Arbitrum Foundation.

  • Satyam Singh Developer relation
    He is a full stack developer passionate about exploring web3 and Large Language Models (LLMs) and have hands-on experience with machine learning and decentralized technologies.

  • Bimpe O. Project manager
    She is a climate-neutral advocate and a quality assurance professional with expertise in implementing Lean Six Sigma methods for process improvement and waste reduction. Her passion for empowering women in the web3 space has led her to run various educational initiatives and training programs, significantly facilitating the onboarding process for newcomers, especially women, into the web3 ecosystem.

Multisig: 0x2c39573AB444b17c520116A18bC5094a1b920D5F

Conclusion:

Establishing a Celo Regional Hub in Canada will drive web3 adoption, promote financial inclusion, foster innovation, and enhance Celo’s visibility through community engagement, workshops, hackathons, and strategic partnerships.This initiative will not only position Celo as a leading blockchain platform in Canada but also contribute to the broader goal of creating a more inclusive and sustainable digital economy.

1 Like
2

Hi @Supercoolkay,

Thanks for taking the time to write up a Regional DAO Draft.

Before moving to a vote, you’ll need at least two Celo PG stewards to signal readiness to move the proposal forward. The proposal must also have been up on the forum for at least seven days. All process details can be viewed in the CeloPG Hub.

My initial feedback
I’ve reviewed your proposal and have the following questions:

  • You have applied with Dapps over Apps in the past. Can you share how this, if at all, relates to this proposal?
  • On your LinkedIn, it shows you have an active role with NEAR. Can you explain this role and how it potentially overlaps with this proposal?
  • The urgency to get adoption in 10 cities across Canada seems low. How do you see this making a big impact?
  • The budgets seem high overall. Can you provide a more detailed breakdown of the partnership budgets and ops budgets?
    Many of your items don’t include clear targets for your KPIs. Please rework them to include clear objectives.

Overall, I don’t think this proposal is ready to go to vote.

Finally, it is possible to apply for the Regen Coorindation Gitcoin Grants program as a Celo Regional DAO - to get started with that read this announcement and register your DAO here.

2 Likes
3

Gm :green_heart:

Canada has a special place in my heart, glad to see Canadians looking to expand Celo footprint in the North.

I’m one of the CeloPG stewards and I agree with @LuukDAO when he wrote that your proposal is definitely not ready for vote.

I would also like to highlight that the “High Cost of Remittances” seems like a great opportunity and maybe you could first do a more targeted and focused project on using Celo to fix this issue? I think building such an app (maybe using minipay?) would be awesome.

1 Like
4

Hi @LuukDAO, thank you so much for taking time to review our proposal. Your feedback has been helpful. Below are answers to the questions you asked earlier:

  • Yes, I previously applied with the Celo Dapps over Apps initiative. However, Celo Canada is a new project inspired by the low web3 adoption and untapped market potential in Canada. Therefore, it is not related to Dapps over Apps.

  • My work with Near is typically on a part-time basis and does not overlap with this proposed initiative.

  • Our operations extend beyond just 10 cities. We are on a mission to drive adoption across Canada through strategic initiatives such as:

  1. Workshop & seminars, which will cut across over 10 cities for H2

  2. Hackathon program that aims to grow the usage of Celo blockchain in solving problems and enhancing existing solutions.

  3. Partnership & Sponsorship: Winter in Canada can be quite isolating, but we are currently in the prime season for exciting events across various industries. We will collaborate with institutions and like-minded communities to organize and participate in outstanding events.

  4. Content creation & Socials: We aim to achieve a very strong online presence in Canada through featuring articles in leading canadian medias, hosting AMAs, developers workshop,

  5. Curriculum & educational materials.

I am confident in the potential of our strategic activities to drive widespread adoption of Celo across Canada.

  • For the partnership budget breakdown:

An estimate of $10,000 will be invested in creating our presence through event sponsorships in Canada until the end of the year. The events on our watchlist are strategically chosen to enhance our visibility and facilitate meaningful partnerships:

Current Event Watchlist:

  1. TechExit.io Toronto | The M&A Ready Event | October 29, 2024 : TechExit.io:

This event focuses on mergers and acquisitions, presenting an opportunity to connect with key industry players and potential partners who are influential in the tech and blockchain sectors.

  1. Finance Events

I believe this event aligns with our mission to promote financial accessibility and environmental sustainability, making it an ideal platform for us to showcase Celo.

  1. ICDCDI :
    This is its first edition, and I see it has potentials of attracting large number of the crypto enthusiast in Canada to Celo.

  2. AWS Summit Toronto :
    We believe this summit will attract audience from various sector which will give us a great avenue to showcase Celo.

  • For the Operations & remuneration:

Our current team consists of three members, and we anticipate expanding as we launch. We will be working an average of 20 hours per week. Additionally, we plan to outsource certain tasks, which will incur costs. Therefore, a total of $24,000 will be allocated for salaries, outsourcing, and miscellaneous over a six-month period.

When evaluating the operational expenses, it is crucial to consider the scope of the work, the high level of in-person involvement, the dedicated time, the strategic planning required, and the consistently high cost of living in Canada. I have detailed and broken down the budget in this document..

I have also edited the deliverables of our items to include a clearer and measurable KPIs.

Thank you once again for your time. Please kindly let me know if you have any more questions. I am always happy to clarify.

5

Gm :green_heart: @pcbo Excited to know your profound interest in Canada!

Thank you so much for reviewing our application. We have clarified @LuukDAO’s questions and also made adjustment to the KPIs, making it very clear and measurable.

The 'High Cost of Remittances" is definitely something we will pay close attention to during our hackathon, workshop and other programs.

Thank you so much for the great addition we look forward to implementing it. :slight_smile: :green_heart:

1 Like
6

Hi @Supercoolkay

We haven’t received any new feedback in a couple of days. Once you have a version of the proposal you feel is ready for submission; please post it in a new thread with [FINAL] in the title so we can submit it for the Steward vote.

Also, today is the final chance to apply for the Regen Coordination GG21 round as Celo Canada if interested! You can complete your application here through the Gitcoin dApp.

1 Like
7

Hi @LuukDAO. Thank you for getting back to us. We’re happy to hear from you.

We have just posted the final version of the proposal and we also submitted our application for the Regen Coordination GG21 round.

Thank you once again for the feedback. :saluting_face: