Please describe your proposed solution.

In Nigeria and many African communities, there are savings and money lending organizations called AJO or Esusu. They are detailed in this wikipedia page, “Rotating savings and credit association

Our goal is to do an outreach campaign to these groups to research and understand the system and determine if Cardano is a good fit. We will listen to the group members for the problems they encounter and explain blockchain and help them to use Cardano wallets.

The project is divided into two phases that reflect the two groups of stakeholders. In phase one, we will do outreach, education and onboarding to Nigerians involved in esusu lending programs. The goal is to explain blockchain to them as well as listen to them about how the Esusu groups work and their experience. This will be invaluable information for the Cardano developers community.

Phase two is a similar outreach and education campaign for the Cardano developers community. The goal is to present the phase one research in an understandable way and answer the question - “Can cardano smart contracts be built to effectively address the needs of Esusu groups?”

The Nigerian Esusu project will have a sustainable economic impact by providing solutions to the challenges holding back these groups from growth and scaling.

We feel there is a real need in the Esusu community which the cardano community can uniquely address. Our team is ready, willing and able to bring these two groups together for mutual benefit.

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

An initial first step is educating leaders and members of Esusu groups on the potential of Blockchain in addressing some of the challenges holding their effectiveness and growth as groups.

Ultimately, the project will create new Cardano users and onboard existing groups using Cardano DAO tools after a detailed understanding of their peculiarities.

The project will provide foundational research for anyone interested in Esusu type rotational lending practice. We believe there is opportunity for Cardano Developers to build DAO tools in support of Esusu groups. There is opportunity for Esusu groups to become Cardano DAOs. This is a win-win situation for Developers and the people engaged in Esusu.

• Number of Communities engaged in collaboration using Cardano DAO creation tools.
• While the research and campaign workshops don’t involve DAO tooling, they do bring together communities that have a need for Cardano infrastructure and tools.
• The glossary tool will be available for wide community use.
• Phase one will find and connect groups interested in collaboration with cardano DAO tools in the specific area of financial inclusion and Esusu.
• Amount of ADA coming from DAOs transaction fees after the solutions on this challenge get implemented (> than the challenge's allocated fund amount)
• As the members and groups are onboarded utilizing Cardano wallet add DAO tools.
• Number of DAOs that use Cardano as governance/management chain in 6 months.
• We will onboard up to five (5) Esusu groups as DAOs on Cardano.
• Number of DAOs toolset/frameworks available for DAO Ops (>1).
• A glossary of Esusu and Cardano terms
• Additional not yet existing tools to give Cardano a distinct advantage
• Ultimately, we would like to see a comprehensive DAO creation template for Esusu groups. The proposal provides the foundational elements and tools for that.

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

Quantitative Metrics

1. Number of Esusu groups contacted.
2. Number of groups surveyed.
3. Number of facilitation sessions conducted.
4. Number of individuals and groups onboarded to Cardano and new wallets created.
5. Workshops with Esusu groups.
6. Workshops with Cardano developer community.

Quantitative

1. Outreach documents detailing response from survey.
2. Website with research output and mailing list.
3. A glossary of Esusu terms and Cardano Blockchain terms.
4. Solutions to identified Esusu groups challenges.
5. Opportunities introduced to Cardano developer community

Glossary

Number of users of the Cardano Esusu glossary.

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

There will be website with a mailing list and a place to access the materials of the project. Contact information of the team members will be available.

We will publicly share our milestone and closeout reports with the Cardano community and other interested parties.

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

The team behind the project come with valuable experience both within and outside of web3 and a strong commitment to delivering sustainable solutions. To ensure this is achieved, the project has been divided into phases and milestones with clear deliverables.

This proposal will fund a team 4 persons (2 in Nigeria and 1 in North America and 1 in India) over 7 months with 4 key milestones involving separate workshops to Esusu groups and the Cardano developers. This will ultimately provide sustainable solutions for greater productivity and growth of Esusu groups.

Ona Ohimor

The lead proposer is a finance professional and trainer. He has been in web3 for over three years, initially as a crypto enthusiast but now a Blockchain and Web3 evangelist. He has trained and on-boarded dozens of newbies to Blockchain. Besides, his passion for crypto, he is an advocate for small and growing business and provides functional skills training for businesses.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/onoakpomaohimor

Daniel Effiom

An experienced fintech professional and member of the Cardano community in Nigeria.

Newman (@Newman5)

Project Catalyst contributor since Fund7. Member of several Catalyst Groups such as the ‘DAOs love Cardano’ challenge team. I am a trained facilitator and focus on documentation of group activities. For this project, I accept the role of coordinator and project catalyst consultant.

Ubio Obi

Furthermore collaboration and engagements with the Cardano Community as we go from one milestone to another will ensure accountability.

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

Goals include:

1. Detailed and documented understanding of the Esusu and AJO groups workings and challenges.
2. Exposing Cardano developers to the needs and challenges of Esusu groups.
3. Provide Blockchain and Web3 basics training to enable members appreciate the value and benefits of adopting.
4. Get members of the groups to onboard to Cardano and utilize Cardano wallets and DAO tools.
5. Delivery of a glossary of Esusu and Cardano Blockchain terms.
6. Proffer solutions and tools that will meet the needs of Esusu groups and foster growth and greater productivity.
7. Provide foundational structures for future Blockchain solutions and tools for Esusu and similar groups.

Objectives include:

1. A public website with research links and relevant documentation
2. Plan and deliver research and outreach workshops to Esusu groups
3. Plan and deliver research and outreach workshops to Cardano groups
4. Create a Esusu / Cardano glossary

As part of validating our approach, we will ensure initial and continued engagements with all relevant stakeholders and the Cardano Community for feedbacks.

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.

Two main phases:

Phase 1 - Research and Outreach / Education Campaign

(Milestones 1 & 2)

Phase 2 - Tooling

(Milestones 3 & 4)

Milestone 1:

month 1 (October 2023)

• Team formation with roles and responsibilities
• Project management setup. Establish Communication and documentation methods (decide on Discord, Asana, project management tools. Also a documentation plan.
• Preliminary survey of Esusu groups - finding groups and build the survey
• Preliminary survey of Cardano Developer groups - finding groups and build the survey
• website creation
• progress reporting (for Project Catalyst and Group members)

Phase 2: Promotion and informational sessions

Milestone 2: month 2 (November 2023)

• promote workshops - asynchronous (Social Media, Adwords / paid Ad campaigns)
• promote workshops - synchronous (live presentations, After TownHall, AMA on Forums and Twitter spaces)
• Prepare and deliver Esusu information session 1 hour
• Prepare and deliver Cardano Developer information session 1 hour
• Gather feedback
• Create an insights report on all informational sessions
• progress reporting (for Project Catalyst and Group members)

Phase 3 - Esusu groups and Cardano Developer Workshops

Milestone 3: month 3-4 - Esusu groups (December 2023 - January 2024)

• Design, Develop and implement Blockchain education for Esusu groups. Esusu workshops (3 hour) At least two workshops. At least 5 Esusu groups (15 to 25 people)

Milestone 4: month 5 - 6 - Cardano Developers (February and March 2024)

• Outreach to blockchain / Cardano Developers interested Esusu opportunities
• Design, Develop and implement “Cardano DAO tooling for Esusu” feasibility workshop. Cardano Developer workshops (3 hour)
• At least two workshops. At least 5 developer groups (15 to 25 people)

Phase 4 - Finalize

Milestone 5: month 7 - Finalize (April 2024)

• Finalise project
• Create closeout report and video

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

Phase 1 - Prepare

Milestone 1: month 1 (October 2023)

Deliverables:

• Website
• team member mailing list and social media accounts
• Project Management Documents
• surveys
• preliminary list of Esusu groups
• preliminary list of Cardano Developers
• milestone report

Phase 2: Promotion and informational sessions

Milestone 2: month 2 (November 2023)

Deliverables:

• promotional campaign documents and records
• Esusu group mailing list
• Information sessions: agenda, presentation and feedback
• Summative Evaluation report for information sessions
• Milestone report

Phase 3 - Esusu groups and Cardano Developer Workshops

Milestone 3: month 3-4

Esusu groups (December 2023 - January 2024)

Deliverables:

• Esusu workshop materials: agenda, video, training records, feedback
• Milestone report

Milestone 4: month 5 - 6

Cardano Developers

(February and March 2024)

Deliverables:

• A glossary of Esusu and Cardano financial terminology
• workshop materials: agenda, video, training records, feedback documentation.
• Milestone report

Phase 4 - Finalize

Milestone 5: month 7

Finalize (April 2024)

Deliverables:

• Closeout report and video
• “Cardano DAO tooling for Esusu groups” - Feasibility analysis document

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

Milestone 1

Milestone 2

Milestone 3

Milestone 4

Milestone 5

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

Ona Ohimor

Project Lead

Responsible for project implementation, training facilitation

Daniel Effiom

Project Team Member

Reporting

Ubio Obu

Project Team Member

Newman Lanier

Project Advisor and Consultant

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

With the following outcomes, the project is value for money:

1. Promotion of Cardano Blockchain and DAO tools to Esusu groups in Nigeria.
2. Creations of wallets of new to Blockchain and Cardano users.

3. Esusu groups as a Cardano DAO researched and documented.

4. Potential large market adoption

A new style of DAO and financial inclusion

5. ew DAOs brought to Cardano

Partnerships and Collaboration among Cardano groups and tools