Please describe your proposed solution.
It is good to look at the picture from a broader perspective. However, focus on getting things done from one stage to another. The broader picture is to cover the whole of Africa, whilst the first stage is to start with Ghana, where I reside currently.
I envision establishing this project to ensure it lasts and runs through till Catalyst is no more (if and only if it will be over though 😌)
My solution to the proposed problem is to host a series of online workshops titled "Time With Nana Safo" to engage, guide, and mentor tertiary students, developers, and instructors on how to become and contribute to not just the Catalyst community, but the Cardano ecosystem at large. The plan is to run this project around the following topics:
- Cardano
- Project Catalyst
Various Catalyst roles (PA, vPA, Proposer, Referral, Challenge Team member, etc.)
- Cardano Dev Tools
- Cardano Wallets (Yoroi, Nami, CC Vault, Daedalus, etc.)
Project Structure:
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A new series will be launched right after the 'Assess QA stage' of each and every iterating catalyst funding round. This is to prepare the group of participants for their contribution to the community in the next cycle.
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This is going to be strictly an online workshop.
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Offline and online scouting strategies will be used to create awareness and onboard potential participants to social media platforms (WhatsApp).
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The target participants are university students, developers, and instructors.
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It is my goal to have at least 10 new active participants per series.
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For offline scouting, I plan to visit university blockchain hubs to deliver a foundational presentation on Cardano to arouse their interests, whilst scheduling a one-to-one meeting with instructors to run them through a foundation presentation/discussion.
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For online scouting, I plan to host meetings with potential participants who live on the outskirts of Accra to deliver the foundational presentation on Cardano. I see LinkedIn as a good spot where I can also scout for Ghanaian university students, developers, and instructors who can be tagged as potential participants prior to their engagements and activities.
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A WhatsApp platform will be created to onboard and engage potential participants for the workshops, whilst I migrate active participants to Telegram and Discord platforms for further engagement.
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As time goes on and the project begins to realize expansion with more hosts emerging from participation, the name of the series will be changed from "Time WIth Nana Safo" to "Time With African Catalyst" to reflect the true growth, mission, culture, and inclusiveness for all.
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Each series would have a time span of 6 weeks and iterate prior to the launch of the government phase of the next fund.
For each series, there will be 6 episodes.
Each episode would be scheduled for Sunday from 19:00 UTC to 20:30 UTC.
- The first episode of the series will cover a general introduction to blockchain, Cardano, Project Catalyst, Cardano Dev Tools, and Cardano Wallets. - Week 1
- The second episode of the series will dive deep into the "Proposal Assessor" process. - Week 2.
- The third episode of the series will dive deep into the "Proposer" process - Week 3.
- The fourth episode of the series will dive deep into the "Challenge Team" process - Week 4.
- The fifth episode of the series will dive deep into the "veteran Proposal Assessor" process - Week 5.
- The last episode of the series will dive deep into the "Proposal Mentor" process - Week 6.
- With the help of online examination tools, participants would be evaluated to determine the rate of understanding at the end of each series.
- A close-out report on that season would be drafted and posted on the reporting website.
Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.
The main aim of this proposal, which seeks to focus on Ghana as the first stage, is to ensure that the Ghanaian tertiary sector, especially students, instructors, and developers, is exposed to the accuracy of information revolving around blockchain, its capabilities, and most importantly, the opportunities it has for everyone.
This solution will increase the number of Ghanaian tertiary folks interested in the growth of the Cardano Community and blockchain solutions. At the end of a successful implementation, there will be an increase in the number of catalyst participants, the quality of Project Catalyst projects coming through from the Ghanaian tertiary sector, an increase in the number of Cardano Dev participants, and an increase in the number of individuals interested in blockchain.
What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?
- Internet Issues: Ghana is predominantly one of the countries with poor internet access. However, the telcos like MTN and Vodafone have special services and fibre broadband offers for businesses, organizations, and individuals who need and can afford the best internet surfing experience. I plan to utilize this service and the fibre broadband offer since my line of work is going to rely mostly on the internet with ultra speed and strength.
- Attendance: Naturally, people are sceptical about things they do not understand. This can affect attendance. The alternative solution is to be available and open to relevant questions, which would help uplift the understanding of potential participants even before the commissioning of the actual workshop episodes. For potential attendees who could not become active participants, they will still be engaged via the WhatsApp platform to determine what’s blocking them from becoming active participants and then address it if possible.
- Consistency in Financing: Regular funding to ensure the smooth workflow of this project is one of the key factors to consider as a challenge that may hinder the progress of the project. However, since this project is solely focused on the expansion of Cardano adoption in the African tertiary sector, I aim to rely on Catalyst for subsequent funding for a while by submitting a refined version of this proposal in every funding round to mitigate this risk until a suitable business module is generated. Again, I plan to save 25% of my salary in addition to grants and gifts I receive from peers on this project to ensure there’s always some percentage to keep the project going. Humbly open to suggestions and advice.
- Consistency in Workflow: Reliable workflow is essential to mark the return on the intention of a project. One may ask, is this project going to revolve around only one presenter? Well, the answer is no. Although the title of the workshops may sound like it’s going to be a sole presenter task, that’s not the case. Instead, it is going to be a train the trainer to train a trainer situation where Nana Safo is scheduled to be the main presenter. Opportunities would definitely be given to participants who opt to become trainers as well as to host the workshops as presenters. With this mitigation mechanism, there’s always a reliable workflow even when one presenter isn’t available.
- Inflation: It is most likely that the prices of goods and services wouldn’t be the same in the next 2 to 3 months, having studied the inflation margin as it keeps rising. To mitigate this challenge, a 5% gadget price add-on has been added to the original prices of all items to be bought, whilst 30% of the total amount for miscellaneous expenses takes care of unforeseen service fee increments.