Please describe your proposed solution.

Our proposed solution, the Decentralized Tutor's Marketplace, addresses the problem of high monitoring costs, lack of tutor choice, and funds misuse. We perceive the problem as the high monitoring costs, limited tutor choice, and the risk of funds being misused for non-educational purposes.

We have already built the MVP smart contract (currently on testnet), successfully tested this out with end-users during the DirectEd pilot bootcamp in Kenya.

Preprod testnet tutorial voucher redemption smart contract : PreProd Address addr_test1wqm0h0putljr4umj86fw6dpatfatwjk8h70y05q9yf5fz6s6af6m8 - Cardanoscan

Mainnet DTV policyID (to see use and holders): Token DTV - Cardanoscan

Notion page description and video tutorial for students: <https://directed.notion.site/Tutors-Marketplace-922d7d9bf3e04c50915eacb2c88a2c43?pvs=4>

How the marketplace works: Non-technical User Flow Description

1. The Education funder performs vetting (whitelisting) of tutors. They send Tutor NFTs to the Cardano wallet address of the vetted tutor.
2. Tutors put up tutorial session availability ahead of time on the platform with information about content time, place and price (fixed, or using “when2meet” system).
3. Education funder sends stablecoin to the Tutorial Vouchers (TV) Redemption smart contract and a corresponding amount of TV to students they want to support.
4. Students show up and pay the tutor before the start of the session. Students may pay with TV or pay using mobile money (MPesa). Tutor holds the session.
5. Tutor sends TV token to the TV Redemption smart contract and receives stablecoin and the Tutor NFT. The Tutor NFTs must be included in the transaction.

Flowchart

Current (MVP)

DirectEd has taken the role of both “Education funder” and course provider. This may not always be the case. We call our particular TV token the “DirectEd Tutorial Vouchers” (DTV). More generally, each Education funder will have their own Tutorial Vouchers and Tutor NFTs.

1. Traditional screening and interviewing and interviews with prospective tutor candidates. The DirectEd Tutorial tokens minted using 3rd party
2. Tutorial sessions posted through WhatsApp (student group) and/or on a Tutorial marketplace Notion page. Tutors created Google form to collect sign-ups
3. We hold the stablecoin in our treasury multi-sig (due to the smart contract off-chain code and frontend integration still undergoing QA). We send the DTV to all students manually using a Cardano wallet.
4. Students pay tutors by sending DTV and the minADA amount to the tutor. Tutor sends back minADA to the student.
5. Tutor navigates to teachers.directed.dev/redeem to redeem their DTV for stablecoin (Djed). We recently completed the offchain code and integration so we expect this to have been tested for the first time by the end of July.

This proposal

Our goal is to build a platform which can accommodate both external funders and students. The following will be the key features of our platform.

1. A user interface where tutors (Veted tutors) list their offerings. Students can book sessions from a variety of tutors.
2. Interface and functionality for education financiers to mint tutor voucher tokens, which they then send to students and students use the tokens to pay tutors.
3. Interface and ability for tutors to redeem the tutor voucher tokens to ADA. The tutors, after vetting, will be awarded an NFT to ensure it’s only vetted tutors who can redeem tutor voucher tokens.
4. Functionality for students to make ratings on tutors to enhance the overall tutor experience and statistics of tutorials being held through the platform and the students' attendance.

Our approach focuses on leveraging the Cardano blockchain to empower students, tutors, and education financiers. By utilising blockchain technology, we ensure secure and transparent transactions, enabling students to choose tutors based on their preferences, qualifications, and availability. This decentralised approach reduces monitoring costs for educational providers and creates a competitive environment that incentivizes tutors to provide high-quality services.

The project will engage various stakeholders, including students seeking personalised tutoring, tutors looking for flexible work opportunities, and education financiers interested in supporting student education. By providing a decentralised marketplace, we aim to create a thriving ecosystem where students can access quality tutoring, tutors can showcase their expertise, and education financiers can ensure funds are allocated for educational purposes.

To demonstrate impact, we will track key metrics such as the number of students accessing tutoring services, tutor satisfaction ratings, and the amount of stablecoin liquidity provided by education financiers. We will also conduct user surveys and feedback sessions to gather qualitative insights into the improved learning experiences and increased transparency achieved through our solution.

What makes our solution unique is the integration of the Cardano blockchain, which ensures secure and transparent transactions while leveraging the benefits of decentralisation. The use of tutorial vouchers and smart contracts creates a robust and accountable system that aligns the interests of students, tutors, and education financiers. By bringing these advantages to the education sector, our solution contributes to Cardano's vision of fostering transparency, efficiency, and empowerment in various industries.

How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

The challenge seeks to fund: Creation or improvement of different products that provide value to the Cardano community and wider ecosystem.

Our proposed solution, the Decentralized Tutor's Marketplace provides value by building a product that directly addresses several problems: Inefficiency in tutors hiring, ie high monitoring costs, lack of tutor choice, and funds misuse

The project brings several benefits to the Cardano ecosystem:

Increased Usage and Transactions: The marketplace will generate a significant number of transactions as students pay for tutoring services using DTV tokens, which are securely transferred on the Cardano blockchain. This increased usage will contribute to the growth of the Cardano network and validate its scalability and efficiency.

Quantified (number from pilot):

• Around 100 wallets created
• About 40 active wallets that we’ve sent transactions in the form of prizes or DTV tokens. At the time of writing, there has been 130 transactions involving DTV as can be verified by inspecting the policyID[ https://cardanoscan.io/tokentransactions?assetId=d365ad6a86fe81ed303eab00fc46031e88879166f7d26a271a553009445456](https://cardanoscan.io/tokentransactions?assetId=d365ad6a86fe81ed303eab00fc46031e88879166f7d26a271a553009445456)

Enhanced Adoption: The Decentralized Tutor's Marketplace will attract students, tutors, and education financiers to the Cardano ecosystem. As users engage with the marketplace and experience the advantages of blockchain-based tutoring, it will create a positive perception of Cardano and encourage further adoption of the platform.

Showcase Cardano's Capabilities: By integrating with the Cardano blockchain, the marketplace serves as a real-world application that demonstrates the practical use of smart contracts, token transfers, and decentralized systems. It showcases Cardano's capabilities and positions it as a leading blockchain platform for educational and other industries.

Strengthened Ecosystem: The Decentralized Tutor's Marketplace contributes to the overall strength and resilience of the Cardano ecosystem. It adds a valuable use case, expands the range of applications built on Cardano, and fosters innovation within the community.

While the specific number of users or transactions cannot be accurately predicted, we anticipate significant adoption within a reasonable timeframe. Through targeted marketing efforts and collaborations with educational institutions, we expect to attract a substantial user base and facilitate a high volume of transactions. This will contribute to the growth, vitality, and long-term success of the Cardano ecosystem.

How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

We intend to measure the success of our project through a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics that reflect the project's benefits for the Cardano ecosystem. These metrics will help us evaluate the impact of the Decentralized Tutor's Marketplace on Cardano's productivity and growth in both the short and long term.

During development KPIs

• Number of milestones attained
• Number of milestones completed per timeline
• Number of milestones completed within 1 month indicated on timeline

Post-launch KPIs

• Adoption Metrics: Number of students, tutors, and education financiers using the marketplace.
• Cardano use: Number of wallets created, transactions, transaction volume and TVL in TV Redemption smart contracts.
• User Feedback: We will gather qualitative feedback from users, including students, tutors and education financiers, through surveys and feedback sessions. This feedback will provide insights into the user experience, satisfaction levels, and the perceived value of using the marketplace.

Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

There will be two primary ways the community can follow our progress

1. Bimonthly newsletter. We will be releasing a bimonthly newsletter with details of our project progress to the community. This is integrated with the general news about DirectEd’s work <https://directed.notion.site/Newsletters-34e6bced04534d3981ece8312caea717?pvs=4>.
2. Notion page progress update: continuing on our 1.5 years of continuous monthly updates alongside OKRs, we will too do so for this project. You can see our previously reported progress here: <https://directed.notion.site/Progress-Updates-OKRs-81f92ecebefb4f289e80e1703ff73d2a?pvs=4>. Going forward, each project stream will have its own sub-section on this page to clearly delineate progress of each of the 4 (if successfully funded) project DirectEd are undertaking. Find links to those here.
3. GitHub repository. The smart contracts are already open-sourced. The community can continue to observe our progress by inspecting commits to our GitHub repo.

Upon completion of project

As required, we will be creating a Demo video of how the platform works and seek opportunities to present this during Catalyst ATH breakout rooms.

We will continuously engage in conversations with existing educational initiatives in the Cardano ecosystem to make sure we are building a product that fits their needs. These include for example Emurgo Academy, Gimbalabs, and e-Learning DAO.

By sharing the outputs and impact of our project through these channels, we expect to generate awareness and interest among relevant stakeholders. This will create opportunities for knowledge transfer, collaboration, and the exploration of new possibilities in the field of decentralized education.

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Proven track record of delivering

DirectEd has a long-standing history within the Cardano ecosystem and it was born out of a project proposal in Catalyst Fund 6 (proposal). It has since then received funding for two proposals in Fund 8 (dApp & SSI). Closeout video for the F8 dApp proposal here. To sign up for testnet Alpha testing, go to <http://testnet.directed.dev/> (opens July 31st). We embrace radical transparency, as can be observed through our public Progress & OKR page and by inspection of our wallet transaction metadata ($directed, $simondirected).

Our SSI proposal is still in progress after both technical and operational challenges alongside contingencies outside of our control. After undertaking feasibility study, several aspects of the original idea contained in the proposal was found to be intractable. More details on other factors can be found in this Change of Scope request that has been submitted to IOG.

DirectEd has delivered in several ways. Utilization of the network, open-source code contributions and real-world impact & partnerships. The section below quantifies each of these:

Cardano use

• 120+ wallets created and estimated 250+ transactions (lower end). To illustrate, the Decentralised Tutorial Marketplace pilot has (at the time of writing) generated 130 transactions. You can see it being actively used by inspection of the policyID <https://cardanoscan.io/tokentransactions?assetId=d365ad6a86fe81ed303eab00fc46031e88879166f7d26a271a553009445456>
• Salaries have been paid on-chain. Previous treasury address: <https://cardanoscan.io/address/0158a6c035359d0c470f790c0eedc10b034bcbefeccf3573b979236358a6f473253923585a4137f57aa71ae386a96ca1f568ffec3c35320910>. Current treasury (multi-sig): <https://cardanoscan.io/address/31edbbf1a2258c28b4fe58fd29abd38d79cf8b2d576006343de5d83ff8edbbf1a2258c28b4fe58fd29abd38d79cf8b2d576006343de5d83ff8>

Open Source Contributions (repo)

• CIP-30 wallet connection for any NextJS/ReactJS website. Our wallet connect automatically detects which Cardano browser extension wallets are present in your browser and displays a dropdown upon hovering of the ones detected..
• NFT-gating. We have written code enabling simple NFT gating for a NextJS/ReactJS website. Users can either choose to gate content by policyID in an array (multiple policyIDs can be added) or by the unique asset ID. This gives website owners a novel method of access control that does not hinge on storing emails and passwords.
• Milestone-based smart contract. This smart contract enables accountability of approved granting of funds in a distributed manner wherein Examiners (human oracles) must issue tokens to grantees before they can redeem each tranche payout.
• Voucher Redemption Contract. This smart contract enables education funders to restrict the use of stipends for specific uses, in our case students receive tutorial vouchers and only tutors can redeem those for stablecoin.

Real-world impact and Partnerships

• 100+ students trained in our 1-week-long Introductory Coding course in Python with some testimonies here. Students received basic blockchain education and testnet wallet onboarding, video recording of the workshop here.
• 14 Access Scholarships funded through the DirectEd Lions NFT fundraiser. This financed purchase of laptops, WiFi devices and data bundles for students from needy backgrounds, enabling them to partake in the DirectEd Bootcamp. Images here. Sample on-chain transactions for data bundles and tutorial vouchers. Check out our Twitter for some of the testimonials from the students!
• MOUs with 3 national high schools in Kenya, including most notably Mang’U High - one of the most famous schools in the country, with many eminent alumni including one former president, several vice presidents and a former governor of Central Bank of Kenya. Pictures from the MOU signing here.
• MOU with Kotebe University of Education in Addis Ababa. This university is dedicated to research and development in education for Ethiopia.
• In-person Bootcamp launch day at Young African Leaders Initiative East Africa regional center at Kenyatta University (USAID project).
• Sponsorships: [CLOVR] stake pool, [KIND] stake pool, COTI Group
• Internship partnerships with Snapbrillia and Tally
• Other partnerships: Cardanowarriors, Web3 User Group

Traction

• In the spring of 2022, DirectEd was admitted to the inaugural Ariob incubator for Catalyst-funded Africa projects.
• During the Cardano summit, CEO Simon Sällström met with Shahaf Bar-Geffen (CEO of COTI) who generously agreed to provide a sponsorship for the first cohort of DirectEd students.
• CEO Simon was invited to speak at NFT.NYC on a panel “Why NFTs will revolutionize charitable giving”.

Media and Twitter spaces

Spring 2023

• Learn Cardano - open source milestone based contact & updates from Ethiopia
• Subcritical - DirectEd programme
• Xeberus - transparency and corruption

Fall/Winter 2022

• Cardano Hotel interview
• Vlog - my personal why
• Cardano over coffee
• Fire in the whole
• Bullish Dumpling Twitter space

Financial Management and Transparency

We have implemented robust financial management processes, leveraging cardano blockchain technology for transparency, accountability, and responsible use of funds. All transactions contain metadata and can be tracked on the Cardano blockchain. We maintain accurate records, conduct regular audits, and provide transparent financial statements to relevant parties, promoting transparency and accountability in our financial management practices.

To this end, we have implemented the following policies for our treasury management.

1. Catalyst funds received in the main multi-sig with 5 signatories, with 3/5 signatures required for any transaction.
2. ADA funds received are immediately converted to stablecoins to avoid volatility
3. No more than ½ of on-chain assets will be held in any one given stablecoin in order to reduce risk.
4. All transactions contain metadata regarding its intended use.
5. All DirectEd-controlled wallets will contain ADAhandles indicating its purpose and controller.

This means we have a multi-sig for the custodianship of received funds. We convert the majority of funds to one or several stablecoins upon receipt. We also extensively document each transaction with information about its use in the metadata. The multi-sig wallet can be explored here ($directeddev) and the payout wallet ($directedsimon) can be audited here.

Project Governance and Reporting

Building upon our previous project experience, we have established a robust project governance structure that emphasizes transparency and accountability. Regular reporting and monitoring mechanisms are in place to track progress and ensure adherence to project milestones and targets. You can inspect our public Progress reporting and OKR page here.

As part of our commitment to transparency, we implemented a progress page for donors to track the performance of students, providing updates on their achievements, which can be observed by donors (NFT gated) here. This reporting framework enables stakeholders to stay informed about project status, outcomes, and financial performance, fostering transparency and accountability throughout the project lifecycle.

What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

The main goal of our project, the Decentralised Tutor's Marketplace, is to create a scalable and efficient platform that enhances personalised tutoring services while ensuring transparency in fund utilisation.

Validation: We will measure the success of our goal by achieving the following:

Cost Reduction and Scalability: Estimate the current costs of tutoring and the overhead of managing and monitoring tutors. Conduct a comparative study between a cohort using the traditional approach and one using the Decentralised Tutor's Marketplace. Quantitatively evaluate the cost reduction achieved through the decentralised approach while maintaining or improving the quality of tutoring services.

Tutor Accountability and Incentivization: Track the number of tutors participating in the marketplace and evaluate their satisfaction levels. Measure the tutor retention rate and gather qualitative feedback on the effectiveness of the tutor rating and review system. Focus on improving incentives for tutors and enhancing their satisfaction, ultimately leading to improved tutorial quality.

Transparent Fund Utilization: Monitor the stablecoin liquidity provided by education financiers to support the redemption of tutorial vouchers. Validate the effectiveness of smart contracts in ensuring that funds are used solely for tutoring purposes. Conduct periodic audits and reports to demonstrate the transparency and accountability of the fund utilisation, aligning it with the expectations of donors.

To measure the achievement of these goals, we will utilise a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics. Quantitative metrics may include cost reduction percentage, number of active tutors and students, transaction volume, tutor retention rate, and stablecoin liquidity. Qualitative metrics will involve user feedback through surveys, satisfaction ratings, and reviews from both tutors and students. Additionally, engagement with educational institutions and stakeholders will provide valuable insights into the project's success in achieving its goals.

Regarding the implementation approach, we will follow industry best practices for software development. This will involve utilising an incremental and iterative development process, conducting thorough testing and quality assurance, and leveraging the expertise of our technical team in blockchain integration and smart contract development.

Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

Milestone 1: MVP Development and User Feedback

Activities

• Identify the core features and functionalities required for the marketplace MVP.
• Conduct user research and gather feedback to prioritize features.
• Develop a prototype of the marketplace MVP with essential features.
• Utilize rapid prototyping techniques to quickly create mockups or interactive prototypes.
• Gather feedback from users and stakeholders to validate the prototype and iterate accordingly.

Expected Timeline: 2 months

Success Criteria:

• Finalise the list of features for the MVP based on user feedback, develop a functional MVP prototype with user-validated features and a positive user experience.

Cost

• $5000

Milestone 2: (subject to user feedback and feature prioritisation as per Lean development)

• Activities and Success Criteria: to be determined during user research (milestone 1)
• Cost: $5000

Milestone 3: (subject to user feedback and feature prioritisation as per Lean development)

• Activities and Success Criteria: to be determined during user research (milestone 2)
• $5000

Milestone 4: Beta testing, Integration, Testing, and Deployment

• Develop the backend and frontend of the marketplace based on the refined prototype.
• Integrate the marketplace with the DirectEd platform.
• Conduct comprehensive testing of the marketplace to ensure functionality and user satisfaction.
• Deploy the marketplace and make it accessible to users.
• Gather user feedback and conduct user acceptance testing.
• Collect feedback on the user experience, identify areas for improvement, and address any issues promptly.

Expected Timeline: 3 months

Success Criteria: Fully functional free-standing marketplace integrated with the DirectEd platform, meeting quality standards and user requirements. Continuously gather and address user feedback to enhance the marketplace and ensure a seamless user experience.

Budget Considerations:

Cost

• $10,000

Project Management Approach:

We will follow a Lean project management approach, emphasising iterative development, continuous feedback, and rapid iterations. The project manager will facilitate regular team meetings, prioritise tasks based on customer value, and utilise visual management tools to track progress. The Lean approach allows for flexibility and adaptability throughout the project, ensuring efficient delivery while focusing on customer needs and maximising value creation. With a total project timeline of 5 months, we will allocate approximately 2 months for MVP development and user feedback and 3 months for integration, testing, and deployment.

Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Milestone 1: MVP Development and User Feedback

Deliverables:

1. Prototype of the marketplace MVP with essential features.
2. User feedback report summarising the findings from user research and feedback sessions.

Outputs:

1. Functional MVP prototype showcasing the essential features and user interface.

Intended Outcomes:

1. Clear definition of the marketplace MVP's features and functionalities.
2. Development of a functional prototype that demonstrates the core features and user experience.
3. Validation of the prototype through user feedback and refinement based on user insights.
4. Alignment of the MVP with user needs and expectations.

Measurement of Progress:

1. Completion of the feature list document and prototype development.
2. Number of user research and feedback sessions conducted.
3. Iteration and refinement of the MVP prototype based on user feedback.

Milestone 2: (subject to user feedback and feature prioritisation as per Lean development)

• Deliverables, Outcomes and Intended Outcomes to be decided (see above)

Milestone 3: (subject to user feedback and feature prioritisation as per Lean development)

• Deliverables, Outcomes and Intended Outcomes to be decided (see above)

Milestone 4: Integration, Testing, and Deployment

Deliverables:

1. Developed backend and frontend of the marketplace.
2. Integrated marketplace with the DirectEd platform.
3. Comprehensive testing report, including test cases, test results, and bug fixes.
4. Deployed marketplace accessible to users.
5. User feedback and acceptance testing report, summarizing the feedback and acceptance results.

Outputs:

1. Fully functional marketplace with a seamless user interface and integrated features.
2. Integrated marketplace platform with the DirectEd platform.
3. Comprehensive testing report detailing the testing process, results, and bug fixes.
4. Deployed marketplace accessible to users with user feedback incorporated.

Intended Outcomes:

1. Development of a robust and functional marketplace platform.
2. Seamless integration of the marketplace with the DirectEd platform.
3. Thorough testing to ensure functionality, performance, and user satisfaction.
4. Deployment of the marketplace for users to access and utilise.
5. Incorporation of user feedback to enhance the marketplace and provide a positive user experience.

Measurement of Progress:

1. Completion of backend and frontend development.
2. Successful integration of the marketplace with the DirectEd platform.
3. Completion of comprehensive testing and resolution of identified issues.
4. Deployment of the marketplace and availability to users.
5. Collection of user feedback and acceptance testing results.

Overall, progress will be measured by the successful completion of each milestone's deliverables, including the development of core features, integration with the DirectEd platform, user feedback incorporation, and successful deployment. Regular evaluation of the deliverables and documentation, along with user feedback and testing reports, will track the project's progress and ensure that the intended outcomes are achieved.

Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Milestone 1: MVP Development and User Feedback.

• User and competitors reseach: $1500
• UIX design and research: $1500
• Front-end: $1000
• Backend: $1000

Milestones 2-3

• UIX design and research: $200
• Front-end: $1500
• Backend: $1500

Milestones 4

• QA testing: $1500
• Optimisation: $2000
• Backend dev: $3000
• Front-end: $1500
• UIX: $2000

Other costs

• Management: $5000
• Reporting and Marketing: $3000
• Admin and Legal: $3000
• Contingency: $5000

Total USD: $34,200

Total ADA: 136800

Assuming 0.25 USD = 1

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Team

Below is a selection of team members. To see the full team of volunteers and other contributors, head over here.

Simon Sällström. MPhil in Economics, University of Oxford. Founder and CEO, DirectEd Development Foundation with several open-source contributions to the Cardano ecosystem including NFT gating, wallet-connect and two general-purpose smart contract primitives. PA and vPA in Catalyst F6-F9. Chair, Cardano RealFi Consortium Spring 2023. Workstream lead, Oxford Blockchain Society. Founder, Cardano Student Hub Oxford. Speaker at NFT.NYC. 5 completed Catalyst proposals, 3 pending completion (2 for CardanOx). Most recent close-out video.

LinkedIn

Rohan Mitta. Smart Contract Lead. MAst in Pure Mathematics, University of Cambridge; MSc Foundations of Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Oxford. Plutus Pioneer 2022. Atala PRISM Pioneer 2022.

LinkedIn

Christime Karimi. Chief Examiner. Senior Tutor, Moringa School. BSc of Education from University of Nairobi. Christine has trained 200+ junior developers over the past 5 years. Full stack web developer.

LinkedIn

Edmund Ebiyenrin. Front-End. BSc in Computer Science, Federal University Makurdi, Google Student Developer Club regional lead.

LinkedIn

John Ndigirigi. Atala PRISM engineer. BSc Computer Science, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Software developer, community builder, Atala PRISM pioneer.

Socials: Linktree

Sherrie Ma. UIX design. MSc International Management, Certification in UX/UI Design, BSc in Coastal Environmental Studies, Experiences in UIX design, Business Management, and Retail and Customer Service .

LinkedIn

Ency Lu. UIX design. BFA in Studio Fine Arts Queens College…Fashion Design Parsons the new school. UIUX Springboard

LinkedIn

Advisors

Below is a selection of advisors to DirectEd. See more here.

Anne Kjær (Riechert) Bathel. Anne is CEO and co-founder ReDI School of Digital Integration, a vocational training program teaching programming and tech skills to refugees and marginalised people. She is a 2006 graduate from KaosPilot in Denmark, a hybrid of a business and a design school. Anne was recognised by Edition F as one of "25 Women" revolutionising German industry and by Handelsblatt as "Mutmacher of the Year"(2018). She was awarded Best Female Social Entrepreneur of the year in Germany 2020 and Ashoka Fellow in 2021.

LinkedIn

George Kosimbei. Dr Kosimbei is the current Chief of Party for the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Regional Leadership Center, East Africa. Prior to this role, he served as the Director of Innovation Incubation and University-Industry Linkages and also Chandaria Business Innovation and Incubation Center at Kenyatta University. He has also served as the project manager of the Kenyatta University - University of Rwanda - Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences and DAAD project on Technology Transfer and commercialization of Intellectual Property. He has extensive experience working in health economics, innovation incubation, intellectual property management and technology transfer and commercialization of Intellectual Property (IP).

LinkedIn

Izzat-Begum B. Rajan. Izzat-Begum combines almost 25 years of experience in tax-efficient legal structuring and large tax dispute management. She offers a unique blend of skills to handle legal, tax, and financial matters as she built her career in multinationals and consulting firms and developed a strong knowledge of impact projects and social enterprises. Since 2005, Izzat-Begum has continuously held various C-suite and Board roles both for large multinationals and start-ups. Today, she is an advisor (providing Legal and Tax oversight) sitting on boards of a wide range of companies operating in the technological space.

Website

LinkedIn

Christian Meyer. Research lead at the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Development. Affiliated with Nuffield College, the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), and the Mind & Behaviour Research Group. Before my current role at the Martin School, I was a Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow in the Department of Economics. His current fieldwork focuses on Ethiopia.

Website

LinkedIn

How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The cost of the project represents value for money for the Cardano ecosystem in several ways:

Efficient Resource Allocation: The project's budget has been carefully planned and allocated to ensure optimal utilisation of resources. The costs associated with development resources, software licences, testing tools, and other necessary expenses are justified based on industry standards and market rates. We have taken into consideration the average wages in our country and the typical rates for freelance services in the relevant industries. By managing the budget efficiently, we aim to deliver a high-quality product within the allocated funds.

Tangible Outcomes and Impact: The project aims to deliver tangible outcomes and address specific challenges within the education sector. The budget allows for the development of a functional and user-friendly marketplace that provides enhanced access to personalised tutoring services. The expected outcomes, such as increased student engagement, improved tutor accountability, and streamlined fund utilization, will bring value to the Cardano ecosystem by fostering educational growth and innovation.

Long-Term Value Creation: The project's value extends beyond the initial implementation phase. The marketplace will continue to benefit the Cardano ecosystem by providing an ongoing platform for students, tutors, and education financiers. It creates opportunities for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and economic empowerment. The long-term value and potential for scalability make the project a valuable addition to the Cardano ecosystem.

Alignment with Cardano Principles: The project aligns with the principles of the Cardano ecosystem, including transparency, security, and decentralisation. The budget considerations account for the integration of the Cardano blockchain, ensuring that the marketplace operates securely and efficiently. The costs associated with project management, documentation, reporting, and marketing reflect the commitment to transparency and community engagement.

In summary, the cost of the project represents value for money as it is carefully planned and allocated to deliver tangible outcomes, aligns with Cardano principles, and creates long-term value for the ecosystem. The budget considerations have been justified based on industry standards and market rates, ensuring an efficient use of resources and a successful project delivery.