Need Cash: A Solution to Ease Financial Transactions in Africa

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Our solution would be a wallet for fiat access and output services, services will be offered in the form of USSD to allow end users to convert stablecoins into local fiat, and an end-to-end API to allow other companies to integrate it. It will use a stablecoin indexed to the US dollar, which will sit on the Cardano blockchain to protect users from the volatility of traditional cryptocurrencies.

It will provide an easy integration experience, as most blockchain protocols require internet access and the installation of additional mobile apps or wallets, which limits their adoption in Africa by blocking users who should benefit the most.

One of the advantages of USSD is that it doesn't require a smartphone or an internet connection, and can run on a simple mobile phone with a mobile network connection. This makes it the primary mobile interface in the developing world, with 1.4 billion people in Africa, the majority of whom still use basic phones. This can put them at a disadvantage, as most mobile financial applications require a modern smartphone with an internet connection.

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

Let's assume that in Burkina Faso alone, the application attracts just 1% of these users, which means that at least 3.5 million users are integrated with Cardano. The net effect is much greater over time, because once users have had their first experience, there will be new use cases and more solutions that will drive even more adoption in Burkina Faso.

As adoption of the app grows, operations could expand to other West African countries, meaning that even more Africans will be integrated into financial services based on Cardano. Over time, general familiarity with Cardano will build trust and perhaps lead to Ada becoming one of the first cryptocurrencies to be recognised at an institutional level.

· An introduction to online banking on the Cardano and USSD blockchains;

· Regular collection of nano-savings from $1;

· An offer of online nano-credits from $200 to $1,000;

· An online insurance offer;

· Savings based on networks of cooperative, mutual or individual members that we will support from inception to full implementation in rural areas or areas that are difficult for traditional financial institutions to access.

· The NeedCash savings account is nothing more than a grouping of different secure investments with 100% online management. This account aims to pool savings, however small (a minimum deposit of $1 per day), while earning an annual interest rate of 8.5%.

· Borrowing is based on the granting of emergency nano-credits, which are repaid within 15 or 30 days, to mutual or individual cooperative networks in rural and urban areas that have difficulty accessing traditional credit.

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

The development of the application will be based on sprints and each sprint will have deliverables focused on functionality.

The project will use a tool such as Asana and Atlassian Jira to manage the overall project management and this board will be open to the community for evaluation.

The GitHub repository can also be made available to members to access the progress of tasks and issues, with a view to daily/monthly check-ins.

For user onboarding, onboarding campaigns will be run with target user groups, this will be managed using Asana (PM tool) so that metrics and number of new users and progress reports will be traceable and measurable.

A monthly report will be sent to the Catalyst school with details of the work done. A the end of the project, a close report will be made as well

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

After successfully completing two projects in fund 8 of which one has been closed out the other yet to close out, I am best suited to continue this project. I have trained trainers who have already started taking up the tasks. So far I have mobilized a total of over 500 participants during our various workshops in Burkina Faso and Senegal cumulatively.

I love to travel and I have visited and established strong relationships in many countries in the sub-regions, and that is what enabled me to organize the launching of the Senegal hub right from Ghana where Iived before moving to Burkina Faso.

I am an entrepreneur with good strategic leadership skills and I know how to identify opportunities and go for them. This skill helped me to have 10 developers from our community initiated to the Haskell and Plutus development even though that was not part of the planned activities of the funded project. I am ready to go an extra mile to have the work done and have it done well.

Through my contribution to WADA Global and through my collaboration with other hubs namely the Ghana and Congo hubs, I have acquired a lot experience in the Blockchain technology.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

The proposed NeedCash solution is to create a mobile application (wallet) that will allow the unbanked population in developing countries who have no access to the Internet to participate in Cardano by carrying out financial transactions without the need for an Internet connection, but thanks to a USSD code integrated into the Cardano blockchain.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] 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.

MONTH 1

Week 1 Start wallet UX development, adjust screens as needed

Week 2 Review Sprint 1, adjust for speed and continue bug fixing and testing

Week 3 Final bug fixes-testing

Week 4 USSD system integration testing

Budget:9450

MONTH 2

Week 5 Planning and design of NeedCash TOKEN launch site

Week 6 Start UX development of site, adjust screens as needed

Week 7 Review Sprint 2 customisation and learn from customisation of Bocklog development test

Week 8 Correction of final bug test Delivery of token site

Budget: 14175

MONTH 3

Week 9 Planning and design of DEX integration

Week 10 Start development - review API and flow

Week 11 Sprint 3 review - debugging and learning - development test

Week 12 Correction of final bugs - test and operational test - deliver integration with DEX

Budget: 9450

· MONTH 4

Week 13 Planning and designing the stable token

Week 14 Design of the stablecoin white paper

Week 15 Building the platform for the ICO launch

Week 16 Sprint 4 Final bug fixes and operational testing

Budget: 6300

· MONTH 5

Semaine 17 Configuration, intégration et développement backend de Blockchain

Semaine 18 Services gérés pour les nœuds locaux de la blockchain, y compris l'hébergement

Semaine 19 Formation apprentissage personnels globale

Semaine 20 Planification adoption Stratégie Marketing

Budget: 14175

·MONTH 6

Week 21 Complete development and integration

Week 22 Begin user acceptance testing

Week 23 Start of field user trials

Week 24 Launch, communication and promotion campaigns

Budget: 15750

Total: 69300

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

· MONTH 1

Week 1 Start wallet UX development, adjust screens as needed

Week 2 Review Sprint 1, adjust for speed and continue bug fixing and testing

Week 3 Final bug fixes-testing

Week 4 USSD system integration testing

· MONTH 2

Week 5 Planning and design of NeedCash TOKEN launch site

Week 6 Start UX development of site, adjust screens as needed

Week 7 Review Sprint 2 customisation and learn from customisation of Bocklog development test

Week 8 Correction of final bug test Delivery of token site

· MONTH 3

Week 9 Planning and design of DEX integration

Week 10 Start development - review API and flow

Week 11 Sprint 3 review - debugging and learning - development test

Week 12 Correction of final bugs - test and operational test - deliver integration with DEX

· MONTH 4

Week 13 Planning and designing the stable token

Week 14 Design of the stablecoin white paper

Week 15 Building the platform for the ICO launch

Week 16 Sprint 4 Final bug fixes and operational testing

· MOIS 5

Semaine 17 Configuration, intégration et développement backend de Blockchain

Semaine 18 Services gérés pour les nœuds locaux de la blockchain, y compris l'hébergement

Semaine 19 Formation apprentissage personnels globale

Semaine 20 Planification adoption Stratégie Marketing

· MOIS 6

Week 21 Complete development and integration

Week 22 Begin user acceptance testing

Week 23 Start of field user trials

Week 24 Launch, communication and promotion campaigns

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Budget (in Ada)

Full stack developer (9450 per month) x 2 = 18900
Token creation, white paper, ICO platform (9450 per month) x 3 = 28350
Blockchain backend development 6300 X1 = 6300
Management of local blockchain nodes 15750

Total : 69300

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Barthelemy Kabore: Developper

Mr Kabore Barthelemy: Full-stack programmer, back-end language developer (php, python, java), trainee in Blokchain development, with particular emphasis on the Plutus and Asken languages.

<https://youtu.be/2tSSM6TC6Eg>Dr. Malick Kone: Advisor/ Blockchain expert/Trainer

Dr. Malick Kone has been an active member of the Catalyst community since fund 6, a Found 9 CA and Voter. He is a mathematics professor and a Plutus and Haskell trainer. He participated in the Wada project titled Nurturing Roots in Africa by organizing workshops in Cote d’Ivoire, to educate people on the Cardano Blockchain and its opportunities for Africa. And during those workshops an overall number of 150 people joined the Catalyst Platform and opened wallets on Yoroi.

He is a beneficiary of the Plutus Pioneer Program and also has an advanced skill level with Haskell. I am currently planning a 5-week training on Plutus and Haskell with Dr. Malick for the benefit of developers in Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

He has also held a couple of workshops in Cote d’Ivoire to teach developers how to create and execute smart contracts.

Dr. Malick is from Cote d’Ivoire(West Africa). He is bilingual with a good mastery of French and English.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b2yc7nhzXU>

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Budget (in Ada)

Full stack developer (9450 per month) x 2 = 18900

Barthelemy and two other developpers will be in charge of this section

Token creation, white paper, ICO platform (9450 per month) x 3 = 28350

This will be outsourced to a blockchain expert

Blockchain backend development 6300 X1 = 6300

This section will also be outsoured as Barthelemy is not yet confortable with blockchain development.

Management of local blockchain nodes 15750

Total : 69300

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