[Report] Celo Africa DAO Report (August, September, October 2023)

[mabwa]

Hello, Celorians, In adherence to our pledge to advance openness and collect meaningful input from the community, we are delighted to present an overview of our activities throughout the months of August, September, and October within the Celo Africa DAO. We eagerly anticipate receiving your feedback and insights on these undertakings as we persist in our progress.

Project Duration: August, September, October

Project: Celo Africa DAO Report

Executive Summary:

The Celo Africa DAO started in April 2023 and has actively worked over the past six months to foster the adoption of Celo in Africa. During this time, we’ve successfully organized community events, workshops and represented Celo at big African platforms. We have engaged founders, developers, and university students and inspired a wave of innovation. Our initial focus has been on developer acquisition, community growth, and brand awareness.

As we move forward, our next significant step is to support talented community members (developers) as we explore the potential of building dApps for Minipay. As we wrap up the DAO’s commitments this year i.e. November and December, please find the progress and achievements of the DAO in the current (second) report as summarized below.

Find the first version of the report (May, June & July) in the link attached below.

Celo Africa DAO Report (May, June, July)

Greetings, awesome Celorians! I’m Mabwa Charles, a Core Contributor for the Celo Africa Dao. As part of our commitment to enhancing transparency and gathering valuable community insights, we’re excited to unveil a snapshot of our endeavors over the last quarter (May, June, July) within the Celo Africa Dao. We’re eager to hear your thoughts and perspectives on these initiatives as we continue to move forward! Project Duration: May, June, July Project: Celo Africa DAO Report Executive Summary T…

The Celo Africa DAO’s August, September, and October 2023 report showcases its substantial achievements and strategic endeavors within the key domains of Developer Acquisition, Community Growth, Brand Awareness and positioning. At its core, the mission is to drive the widespread adoption of Celo in Africa by nurturing emerging Web3 talent, empowering the community through education, and fortifying market awareness and brand positioning.

In August, the DAO played host to the Decentralized Intelligence Summit, an event that drew in an impressive audience of over 5000 participants and onboarded more than 500 new Celo developers to Celo. A pivotal MiniPay workshop held in Nigeria led to the inception of an ambassador program and a promising collaboration with MiniPay.

The following month, the DAO played a central role in EthAccra, ReFi Kenya, and EthSafari, collectively welcoming over 600 developers into the Celo fold, while also engaging with a vast audience exceeding 2000 attendees. During these events, more than 50 groundbreaking products emerged from spirited hackathons, and MiniPay adoption soared, with downloads surpassing 150. Furthermore, the alliance with key partners grew stronger.

October brought a focus on Community Education and University Outreach, with an impressive influx of over 1000 developers joining the Celo ecosystem. Three university clubs were activated through carefully orchestrated events. Notably, MiniPay and Valora wallet downloads flourished. The extensive reach continued with the hosting of nine informative Twitter Spaces sessions covering various essential Web3 topics. The DAO’s involvement in Africa’s Talking Summit was equally noteworthy, attracting more than 500 developers and onboarding over 50 developers to Celo and MiniPay.

Introduction

Celo Africa Dao Focus Areas i.e:

1. Attract emerging Web3 talent locally by focusing on local incubator programs & developer relations.
2. Community Education & University Outreach
3. Building Market Awareness and Brand Positioning through content distribution.

Focus Area 3: Building Market Awareness and Brand Positioning through content distribution.

Event 1: Decentralized Intelligence Summit

Achievements

Activity	Metrics Achieved
Participants	The conference attracted more than 5000 Participants for the conference and workshops both In-person and virtual
Partners Alliance	Onboarded more than 5 partners into the regional alliance
Users Onboarded	Over 500 users were on-boarded to Celo

MiniPay Workshop in Nigeria

The Celo Africa DAO team conducted a highly productive MiniPay workshop in Nigeria, dedicated to formulating robust go-to-market strategies in preparation for the imminent launch of MiniPay in the African market. This workshop not only yielded impressive outcomes but also displayed an exceptional level of success in several crucial aspects.

Key Deliverables: Ambassador program ideation and launch, Celo Africa DAO partnership and collaboration with MiniPay, Go-to market strategy for MiniPay in Africa

Celo At EthAccra 2023

Event Overview

EthAccra 2023 was a three-day event held in Accra, Ghana on September 7th to September 9th, 2023. The three-day EthAccra Hackathon was organized to foster greater integration of developers, builders, and other creators across the African continent.

Achievements

Activity	Metrics Achieved
Attendance	The conference attracted more than 500 Participants.
Valora Downloads	More than 60 Valora downloads
Products built during the Hackathon	We had more than 20 entries of products for the Eth Accra Hackathon
Users Onboarded	Over 60 developers were on-boarded to Celo

EthSafari Conference 2023 (Kilifi and Nairobi)

Celo Local At EthSafari Event in Nairobi

Celo Local At EthSafari 2023 provided a unique stage for the Web3 community to gain knowledge, forge valuable connections, and brainstorm the future of blockchain technology in Africa and beyond, with Celo Partners HaloFi, FonBnk and MiniPay participating by giving keynotes and engaging in a panel on how to scale Web3 in Africa.

Achievements

Activity	Metrics Achieved
Attendance	The EthSafari side event received more than 150 participants for the Local event
Users Onboarded	Over 50 developers were on-boarded to Celo

EthSafari Kilifi 2023

ETHSafari Kilifi brought together over 2,000 developers, enthusiasts, blockchain experts, and forward-thinking venture capitalists from Africa and around the world to learn, hack, discuss, and celebrate the Web3 ecosystem.

Achievements

Activity	Metrics Achieved
Attendance	The conference attracted more than 2000 participants
Users Onboarded	More than 400 users were on boarded to Celo
MiniPay Downloads	MiniPay download surged to more than 150
Partners	We onboarded more than 5 partners into the regional alliance

MiniPay Workshop At EthSafari

The Minipay Workshop conducted during ETH Safari convened a diverse audience within the Web3 ecosystem, providing an opportunity to acquaint them with Minipay and its developmental potential.

Achievement

Activity	Metrics Achieved
Attendance	The workshop attracted more than 50 attendees

Celo Developer Workshop

The Celo Developer Workshop in Kilifi, emphasized seamless cUSD integration for stable cross-border payments in Africa. Attendees gained hands-on experience with cUSD and Celo Composer for innovative solutions.

Achievement

Activity	Metrics Achieved
Attendance	The workshop attracted more than 30 developers who attended attendees

Celo Africa DAO AT ReFi Kenya

ReFi Kenya 2023 featured a variety of speakers, workshops, and panels on different topics.

Key Deliverables: Attendance

Success Criteria: Number of developers in attendance

Achievement

Activity	Metrics Achieved
Attendance	The event brought more than 200 attendees including Refi partners, enthusiasts, developers and farmers

Africa’s Talking Summit 23

At the Africa’s Talking Summit the DAO managed to organize a notable Minipay product showcase and workshop featuring Celo and Minipay overview, highlighting the unique features. We held a workshop that explored the practical use of USSD technology in building on the Minipay platform, providing attendees with valuable insights and actionable knowledge.

Achievements

Activity	Metrics Achieved
Attendance	The summit attracted more than 500 participants
Users Onboarded	More than 50 developers were on boarded to Celo
Build With MiniPay Signups	More than 10 developers joined the Build With MiniPay Hackathon

Focus Area 2: Deliverables and Expectations - Community Education and University Outreach

Key Deliverables: Community Education, University Programs, Ambassadors for Community and University, Number of activated clubs, Total Wallet Downloads.

Success Criteria: Attainment of specific milestones in community education, effective university outreach, club activations, and wallet downloads

Achievements:

Activity	Metrics Achieved
Community Education and University Outreach	We successfully coordinated and hosted a cumulative total of 6 community meetups and university events in October, and onboarded more than 1000 developers.
No of University Clubs Set	Activated over 3 university clubs across the University Ecosystem in October.
MiniPay Downloads	Over 150 users downloaded the Minipay wallet.
Valora Wallet Downloads	Over 30 attendees downloaded Valora
Twitter Spaces	We successfully held a total of 9 Twitter Spaces across the different ecosystems.

Upcoming Events in November and December

Activity	Metrics Achieved
Community Education and University Outreach	We aim to orchestrate a series of 9 compelling events throughout November and December, encompassing diverse ecosystems, with a keen focus on engaging over 1000+ developers and community enthusiasts.
No. of University Clubs Set	We are looking to activate more than 3 university clubs in November and December across all the Ecosystems.
MiniPay Downloads	We are looking to get more than 1000 MiniPay Downloads in Kenya and Nigeria.
Valora Wallet Downloads	We are looking to get more than 500 Valora downloads
Twitter Spaces	We are looking to host more than 12 Twitter Spaces across the different ecosystems.

Conclusion

In summary, the Celo Africa DAO has demonstrated its commitment to fostering Celo’s adoption in Africa by achieving significant milestones in developer acquisition, community growth, and awareness & positioning. The efforts in organizing and participating in various events and workshops have contributed to building a robust blockchain community and increasing awareness of Celo across the African continent.

Useful Links:

Slack:

Join our Celo Africa Dao Slack - Slack (Note the Link expires in 29 days from 03/11/2023)

Follow us on Twitter:

Celo Uganda - https://twitter.com/CeloUganda

Celo Kenya - ​​https://twitter.com/CeloKenya

Celo Nigeria - https://twitter.com/CeloNigeria

Join us on Telegram:

Celo Kenya Developers - Telegram: Contact @celokenyadevelopers

Celo Nigeria - Telegram: Contact @CeloNigeria

[Brisa]

Absolutely fantastic work, Celo Africa DAO team! It’s truly inspiring to see the substantial progress and strategic impact achieved over the past months. The commitments for this year, it’s clear that the Celo Africa DAO is making a substantial contribution to the Celo ecosystem in Africa. The dedication and approach are setting the stage for continued success and impact. Looking forward to witnessing more achievements and growth in the future!

[rony23-byte]

Celo Africa DAO has been unwavering in its dedication to advancing the adoption of Celo within the African continent. This commitment has yielded promising results as we’ve witnessed a surge in developer engagement and heightened enthusiasm among general supporters and users of the Celo blockchain platform.

Developers in Africa have been actively involved in building innovative solutions and applications on the Celo network, particularly in areas such as decentralized finance (DeFi), and remittances,

[LuukDAO]

Thanks for the fantastic work and clear report, @mabwa and team!

Can you share something about the remaining budget and plans for next year? I would imagine it would be great to kickstart a new proposal for regional DAOs at the same time next year to improve efficiency and collaboration!

[mabwa]

Sure, @LuukDAO, let me compile the remaining budget and the plan we have for next year, I will share the resources under this thread.

[AliuMusa]

Hi @LuukDAO
We envisage that the remaining fund in the treasury will complete all our regular activities ( university, technical codejam, etc) until end of January.

The team are currently working on a new proposal for follow-up funding which would be submitted for community feedback in the days to come.

[azeezabidoye]

Impressive commitment and engagement. It’s super exciting to see the growth and adoption of Celo across African continent.
@mabwa you and your team have done a great job. Looking forward to more collaborative engagements in the future. Thumbs up

[MayaRB]

Great work - I know some people who attended ETHSafari and said it was a great conference!

[mabwa]

Much appreciated @MayaRB

[sharonscia]

Hey @mabwa

Congrats, Celo Africa DAO team! Seeing your goals and planning come to fruition is truly an awe-inspiring achievement.

I can see how much you care about the local ecosystem and building a solid community. You are setting an excellent example for others to follow!

Also, I appreciate how transparent and open you are in your reporting. It’s so refreshing to see such high standards being set.

Two questions (If I may)

1. What are your top 3-4 learnings from running those activities?
2. What are the main struggles that you identified?

[mabwa]

Hello @sharonscia some of the key factors we have learnt and experienced;

1. Top 3 learnings from running these activities?

• Africa requires increased support to engage a broader audience of developers and enthusiasts who hold the potential to become future founders.
• The developer community exhibits significant curiosity about the practical, real-world applications of blockchain technology.
• Ecosystems evolve, and community members needs also change over time. We regularly gather feedback through quarterly surveys, community discussions, to understand what is working well for us and what we need to improve. We regularly study this data to make data informed decisions and adjustments to make sure the community remains relevant and valuable.
• Work on various methods of retention of the Community members, getting them onboard is one thing and retention is another.

The main struggles that we have identified?

• Limited resources within local communities, particularly evident in local universities that lack the necessary tools for an effective learning process.
• Reaching a broad audience of developers residing outside major cities proves to be a costly endeavor.

These are some of the key learnings among many others,

Happy to provide more learnings.