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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
- 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.
- 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
- **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.
- **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
- **Content creation Website & Socials:**Launch an official website, social channel for Celo Canada and also create compelling video and articles.
KPIs & Deliverables
- Achieve a minimum of 2 million + engagement on our socials.
- 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
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 |
Comprehensive budget breakdown here
Tractions & Team members:
- Organized the first ever blockchain event in Saskatchewan, Canada .
- Ambassador for the largest blockchain event in Canada - Blockchain Futuristic Conference
- Organized and participated in 40+ hackathons based on web2 & web3 solutions. Some apps built are:
1.Dev Match - a decentralized to connect with your tech mate.
2.Shark Tank - a web based 3D online game.
3 Skaap - enables shopper to scan and pay for items. - Trained over 200+ developers online and in-person
- Team Member is a lead at cyber security UofR and Google developer student club
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.