[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

According to UN forecasts, Africa is expected to double its population by 2050, from 1 billion to nearly 2.4 billion inhabitants. Half of that population will be less than 25 years old.

World Bank figures show that young people represent 60% of the unemployed population in Africa. Among those who do have a job, the majority work in the informal economy. A report published in 2018, by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the topic, indicated that 94.9% of people between the ages of 15 and 24 in Africa work in the informal economy. In West Africa this figure is as high as 97.9%.

DRC has the 7th youngest country in the world according to the UN. This presents a unique mix of challenges and opportunities.

With blockchain being the number 1 in demand hard skill of 2020, our proposal seeks to inform, catalyse, cultivate and encourage the burgeoning interest amongst the African youth that holds architects and entrepreneurs of the future in blockchain and related technologies in the digital economy.

These onboarding workshops have started in 2020 in an educational institution in DRC, the Goma wada hub has been holding sessions with students. We’d like though Project catalyst to enlarge this onboarding program to other hundreds of young students in universities we have allready identified and talked to managers.

The targeted universities are:

• ULPGL
• ISIG
• ISC

Technology education and skills development should not be the preserve of the affluent in our society, it must be decentralized and accessible by all.

It is expected that within three months, three workshops will be held, the youth that will be attending will have in-depth knowledge about the following :

• Foundamentals of blockchain,
• Cardano blockchain,
• Opening and managing wallets,
• Project catalyst, which will include proposal writing where their unique ideas are discussed and how they can turn them into real life solutions through catalyst.
• etc.

All the workshops will follow a simillar pattern as attendance will not be the same, After each workshop we'll conduct a survey to gather insights from participants about the event.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

This Project will have large impact on cardano community in the following ways:

• Ecosystem expansion: 3 workshops will be held and gather in total about 300 students from different universities quoted above, who can use decentralized financial institutions, become pioneers and entrepreneurs on cardano.

• Knowledge dissemination: By providing education on blockchain technology and specifically Cardano's principles, features, and use cases, the project can help spread awareness and understanding among individuals, developers, and businesses. This increased knowledge can lead to wider adoption and utilization of Cardano.

Other ways, this proposal will have a positive impact on the lives of about 300 youth in Congo in the following ways listed below:

• Bring together young people aged between 18-25, to learn blockchain and bring out great ideas such as information on a technology they did not know existed.

• Discuss great ideas that can turn into business and jobs after getting knowledge in Project Catalyst through workshops.

• Train young people in marketable skills to boost their chances of escaping poverty.

• Blockchain education will lead to reduction of dependence on government for job after school education.

  [CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Goma Wada Hub:

• Onboarding Program (Production of educational content on Cardano and Project Catalyst since 2020), Watch here.

• Weekly meet-ups to promote Cardano and plan the hub's activities

• Goma monthly since feb 2023, see here.

• Regular Haskell and Plutus training since Sep 2020

• Goma Cardano Stake Pool running in Goma

• Hosting cardano summit 2021 and 2022, watch here.

• 4 developpers and technical professional

• Converting Ada to local currency

• Plutus and Atala-Prism Project based learning, see it here.

• See here our previous projects

• and 2 other projects are ongoing

• GOMA WADA HUB GALLERY

  [Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

From April-May 2024 (Duration 2 months)

1. Design of the onboarding program website
2. Publicize the onboarding program for students on social media and educational institutions though student’s organization and display valves (contact already established).
3. Launch registrations: Via a google form and stop registrations at 300 responses.

Acceptance criteria

1. A website designed to show case the program activities
2. Make posts on social media essentially tweeter and Facebook and publicize the program in concerned universities.
3. A google form made available and receive up to 3OO students registering for the workshops.

>Workshops taking place, From June-August 2024(duration 3 months)

• June 2024: The ULPGL Workshop held in a conference center to accommodate 100 participants in person. Online participation will also be set up.

• July 2024: The ISIG Workshop held for another set of 100 participants - both in person and online.

• August 2024 – The ISC Workshop takes place for another set of 100 participants - both in person and online.

The one-to-one monitoring will be endless for desiring participants at Goma Wada hub physical space.

Acceptance criteria

This milestone is achieved if we can gather at 70 participant per event and a total of 210 for all the workshops.

>Production of a close out report (video and a doc) showcasing the completion of all milestones and the outcomes of the project, including participants' information from the post-workshop survey.

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

Martin Musagara : Proposal lead, Graduating student at ISDR/GL(www.isdrgl.org) Martin is a Blockchain fan and educator, he holds trainings for local students at Goma Wada Hub,( Project catalyst, CRs trainings), he leads the marketing team of Goma stake pool. (https://twitter.com/martin_musagara)

) (<https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-musagara-m-b0139422a/> )

Bandu Balume Boaz: Graduating student at ISDR/GL(www.isdrgl.org), Boaz is the Hub manager and blockchain educator he coordinates meetups for Haskell and Plutus learning. Boaz has completed several training modules on Cardano and is aiming to develop blockchain applications in the field of sustainable development. He will act as an educator.

Akilimali Cizungu Innocent: is a technical analyst within ISDR/GL (www.isdrgl.org) and holds a degree in computer science from ISIG (<https://www.isig.ac.cd/>). Akilimali is also the technician supporting the Goma Stake Pool. Akilimali has experience in front-end, back-end developments, web design. https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/akili-innocent-7649951a8 https://github.com/Innocent-Akim He'll design the website.

Paul Mupenda: Graduating student at ISIG, Paul holds a license degree in Computer Science. An avid blockchain trainer and promising blockchain developer, Paul has completed several Haskell and Plutus learning modules, Paul is a Cardano Blockchain Certified Associate (CBCA) Alpha Program. <https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-mupenda> <https://github.com/paulmupenda>, he'll participate as an educator and assistant to the Dev.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

The total budget requested is 38800ADA

The breakdown is as follows:

• 1 dev to design the website : 3000ADA

• Hiring of Conference Center for 3 workshop sessions: 2000 per center per session- Total 6000ADA

• Resource persons- Blockchain Educators (4)- 600ADA/session/person =2400ADA/session - Total 7200/3sessions

• Equipment hiring for 3 sessions 300 per workshop -Total 900ADA

• Materials and stationery (blocknotes and pens for participants) 2200ADA

• Internet to set the online participation and connect participants (opening wallets) :1200ADA

• Media coverage & design :2400ADA

• Marketing, publicity :1500ADA

• Ada to charge Participants wallets, 10 Ada per Participant – total 3000ADA for a total of 300 participants

• T-shirts with the workshop branding as gifts : 300pcs-Total : 3600ADA

• Refreshments for participants (sandwich and non alcohol drink) :3000ADA

• Transport and logistics :300ADA

• Project managment :4000ADA

• Misc :500ADA

TOTAL : 38800ADA

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

The costs are based on industry standards, the complexity of tasks, and local market rates, to provide a reasonable budget.

The project team is skilled and experienced with creation of educational content, project management and web designinig, this reflects the costs in the budget.

Contingency Plan: We introduced a miscelous amount of 500ADA as It is prudent to allocate a portion of the budget for contingency planning. Unforeseen events, such as changes in requirements, or fluctuation of Ada, delays, or unforeseen challenges, can impact the project's timeline and budget. Having a contingency fund provides a safety net, enabling us to address unexpected circumstances without hindering project progress or compromising quality of the outcomes.