Why is it important?

Meaningful community engagement is critical for IOGs effort and vision for Cardano to succeed in Ethiopia.

What does success look like?

Increased number of teams, quality of proposals, diversity of proposers, cooperation of proposers and teams.

Key Metrics to measure

• Number of teams and individuals engaged in catalysts.

• Number of funded and unfunded proposals.

• Geographic, social, and professional diversity of individuals, teams and proposals

  Challenge brief

Despite the long time presence of IOG and Cardano in Ethiopia

• Engagement in Project Catalyst from within Ethiopia is very low.
• Engagement is limited to a very small social and geographic area in the capital.
• Proposers have little meaningful interactions inside or outside of the country.

why?

• Lack of adequate internet access with one of the lowest mobile and internet penetration in the world,
• Language barrier, and
• Distrustful social and political culture.

Ethiopia is a diverse country with regions that have a great degree of autonomy to conduct their own affairs, create their own laws and rules, and employ tools that suit their needs. For Cardano to succeed in Ethiopia, we need to go beyond the capital, Addis Ababa, and the federal government, to where over 90% of the population lives.

Ethiopia has one of the oldest religious communities who need to upgrade their organizational and administrative structure to the realities of the 22nd century. For example the Ethiopian orthodox church has a membership of over 40 million people with a worldwide reach. It has its own educational institutions and certification standard that it needs to track. Tracking membership and resources.

Ethiopia has community organizations such as Iddirs that support 90% of the population in their time of need when the government is too weak to deliver. The introduction of DAOs could accelerate the adoption of Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) leading to building economic identity and reputation. Opportunities for Realfi implementation, unique laws allow for regenerating unproductive, unowned land,…etc.

Challenge rationale.

With a specific challenge related to Ethiopia the challenge team is able to:

• Provide appropriate advice that addresses the particular challenges proposers and potential proposers from Ethiopia face.
• Connect proposers and potential proposers with mentors, developers, tools builders and implementers that can assist them in their projects.
• Provide advice in team building according to the Catalyst and Cardano environments.
• Promote open communication, a safe working environment, and a deep listening culture

How will this challenge help Cardano adoption?

• Create community awareness and organizational adoption of Cardano solutions such as Atala Prism, DAO tools and Realfi.
• Create awareness for local and federal officials
• Lead to the adoption of favorable rules and regulations for adoption of Cardano and blockchain technologies in Ethiopia

How will this challenge advance Cardano's mission?

• Ethiopia and the horn of Africa is in constant crisis with immeasurable human suffering caused by a failing system and broken trust. Blockchain technology removes the need for trusting central organizations and Cardano could lead the way.
• The young population is looking for work and for hope. They are eager to embrace technology with its tools for protecting sovereignty, while opening up new possibilities for participating through local actions in a global economy.

Tools, methods, processes, principles, and knowledge acquired in the process of mending Ethiopia’s broken system can be replicated wherever there is crisis brought on by broken systems.

Team members

Tegegne, Catalyst OG, Community organizer,

Nori, Catalyst OG, Facilitator, community builder, mentor

Natnael, Community organizer, content creator, facilitator

Badege, Fresh graduate from college, Engaged in his community in rural Ethiopia, working to make a difference.

Shimeles, University Lecturer, mentor