Latin American representation within the Optimism ecosystem surpasses that of builders from other regions like Africa and Asia. My admiration for African builders stems from their proven ability to pioneer innovative solutions tailored to local challenges using cutting-edge technologies, exemplified notably by the transformative impact of MPESA. We’re now seeing many builders use that determination and experience to leverage blockchain for real world solutions, despite their limited access to resources.
Having benefitted from African builders by replicating lots of their onboarding strategies in LatAm, I feel it’s time to reciprocate through outreach and support to help teams and builders become more familiar with Optimism Governance, Grants and RetroPGF.
This is a great opportunity to diversify participation from a region brimming with talented devs, a track record of using technological advancements for local impact and communities looking to grow within Ethereum’s landscape.
This thread will serve as a landing pad for new participants to introduce themselves and their projects as they increase their participation in the Collective.
Please introduce yourself and your project in this thread!
We’ll be coordinating in public through this TG group, anyone is welcome to join and participate.
My name Pishikeni “PK” Tukura and I lead
ops at AyaHQ. I’ve spent the last 6 years working across different products focused on the African market. I’m particularly excited about identity and reputation because it’s an opportunity for Africans to utilize the tech and access global opportunities.
At AyaHQ, we believe rapid experimentation by African builders is the key to unlock true innovation and on board the next billion African users. We are a thriving builder community (focuses on products teams) across Africa in the EVM ecosystem. We achieve this through a curated learning pathway, hackathon platform and most recently organizing 72hr pop-up hacker houses.
Please reach out to me on X:@pkstevenz_ or Telegram: @pkstevenz if you want to know more about what we do and how you can collaborate.
Happy to be here to learn, unlearn, and add value to our collective consciousness. 3X founder with 1 exit. A hopeless believer in humans and the future of humanity. Presently building Geld.Network. At Geld we are creating the largest land ownership community in the world with one common purpose to bring people, planet, and profit together utilising nature-based solutions and tokenization of real-world assets/securitisation to create a new asset class for the emerging market.
At Geld.Network, we are earthkeepers, academics, developers, radical thinkers, economists, and people like you who care for our common home. It’s great we are planning to become a multi-planetary species, but we have to save the earth first. At Geld environmental conservation meets cutting-edge blockchain technology. We are tokenizing real-world assets starting with land and carbon credits.
Geld.Network is a trailblazing carbon credit collective using Agroforestry and other nature-based solutions to regenerate overfarmed lands and protect their biodiversity. Our platform is designed to streamline the connection between landowners and carbon credit certifiers.
We leverage image recognition and geolocation technology to precisely determine the extent of preserved green areas, ensuring accurate carbon credit token calculation, credibility of the carbon credits, and accountability of the process. We are using Blockchain technology ( smart contract) capabilities to record every transaction and provide carbon credit accountability and proof of ownership.
My name is Idris Olubisi, the founder of Web3 Afrika. I am a software engineer, developer advocate, and community builder.
At Web3 Afrika, our mission is to accelerate the education and opportunities for a new generation of builders, enriching the global web3 conversation with diverse voices. We focus on fostering communities within Africa, among Africans in the diaspora, and individuals of African descent worldwide.
We have organized numerous virtual hackathons, workshops, technical training sessions, in-real-life (IRL) events, and bootcamps. Our goal is to onboard, educate, and support Web3 builders and to foster the development of Web3 tools and public goods.
Africa has the potential to become a significant force in the web3 domain, and we are committed to assisting African developers and entrepreneurs in shaping the future.
I would be delighted to discuss further if you want to learn more about our activities or explore collaboration opportunities.
You can always reach me on X: @_olanetsoft and Telegram: olanetsoft
I’m David, Cofounder of bonadocs.com. Prev @ Consensys
Bonadocs is building the future of secure smart contract development and distribution. It’s a collaborative tool for documentation, organization, facilitating contract interactions for simple & complex workflows. This also includes an AI co-pilot for crafting gas-efficient and secure contract flows.
Hi, Carlos
I’m Ivy. Building with Felbeth a Web 3 Edtech aimed at empowering Africans through Blockchain tech and education. Recently collabs with a tech hub to have a beta test. Think of it as the Web3 version of Coursera.
I am Ayodeji, program director and founder Web3bridge. Web3bridge, a 16-week, cohort based dev bootcamp started in 2019 as a program to train Ethereum developers in Nigeria and Africa. Within the last 4years, we have trained over 1000 developers (Web2 & Web3), graduated 250 Ethereum developers (this number is for those that finished the 16 weeks without being evicted.
Started Web3bridge as a remote-only program but now, we have three onsite facilities in Lagos Nigeria where developers are housed, fed and provided with basic amenities to ensure they focus only on learning and building.
My name is Charles Freeborn. I am the founder of web3 Warri Nigeria. I am an independent technical writer and trainer, an open-source contributor to the Ethereum dot org website - helping with content and the docs - and a keynote speaker, based in Warri, Nigeria.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Portharcourt Nigeria and I’ve been on this journey for over 5 years. I enjoy writing in the simplest of terms and forms. And this is why at the core of my technical writings is explaining in the simplest of terms, complex technical concepts.
You can find me on X: @charliecodes, Telegram: @charlesfreeborn , LinkedIn: Charles Freeborn and GitHub: charlesfreeborn
About web3 Warri, Nigeria
The web3 Warri community - which began officially in February 2023 on meetup - is a community of (and for) blockchain developers, smart contract developers, builders, technical writers, open-source contributors, and tech enthusiasts interested in building the next generation of the internet through collaborative learning, meetups, workshops, hackathons, and conferences.
Our community is committed to fostering the development and adoption of blockchain technology.
We have so far hosted a couple of workshops, meetups and hackathon. And as at the time of this introduction, our membership numbers is 367.
I’m Nashons Agate, founder of NexusPay, a platform aiming to revolutionize financial services in Africa through blockchain. NexusPay offers simplified crypto transactions, enabling payments to merchants, peer-to-peer transfers, and even offline transactions via phone numbers, all powered by stable coins to ensure stability and ease of use.
Key Features:
Send Crypto Using Phone Numbers: Forget complicated wallet addresses; use phone numbers instead.
Pay Merchants in Stable Coin: Seamlessly pay for goods in local currency, processed in stablecoins.
Innovative Payment Methods: Including Scan to Pay and Tap to Pay using NFC technology.
Broad Accessibility: Services are accessible offline via USSD, targeting inclusivity for those without internet access.
NexusPay is here to tackle challenges like high remittance costs and limited access to stable currencies, aiming for a financially inclusive Africa where everyone can manage their assets independently. We’re excited to engage with the Optimism community and explore how our vision aligns with the possibilities enabled by blockchain technology.
I am Ernest Nnamdi, founder of Piron Finance, a RWA protocol that aims to connect investors with investment opportunities in emerging markets. Piron finance aims to facilitate investment in a variety of financial instrument and real world assets by creating a transparent and efficient market, removing intermediaries and offering fully collaterized asset pools.
Piron Finance’s mission is to reduce borrowing costs globally while providing stable, diversified investment opportunities in the DeFi space.
Features:
Deals: These are liquidity pools with each pool representing an investment in a financial instrument (commercial papers, invoice financing, credit etc) or real world assets(real estate, project financing etc).
Clubs: These are syndicate groups. Piron finance provides a legal template and platform to syndicate on investment deals either on Piron finance or offchain.
we are currently in development stage( working on the frontend and integrating with the piron finance smart contracts) and have plans to launch on testnet this month.
Hello everyone and thanks for making this thread @Carlosjmelgar.
I am Daniel Anomfueme, a Technical Project Manager and Community builder. For more than four years, I have been passionately cultivating a diverse array of communities, both in the tech and non-tech spheres. Additionally, I have collaborated with various teams to develop and manage technological solutions that span across a wide spectrum of industries.
Currently, I am exploring the possibilities of decentralized science as a contributor at VitaDAO, and I started DeSci Africa to create awareness of decentralized science in Africa.
DeSci Africa is dedicated to empowering scientists in Africa through the principles of Decentralized Science. Our goal is to build a thriving community that promotes the awareness and adoption of decentralized scientific practices across the continent.
You can always reach me on X: @lifeofdanel and Telegram: LifeofDan_EL
Thanks @Carlosjmelgar for the wonderful thread, I do agree it is indeed time. My name is David Machuche and I lead Chatafisha and ReFi Tanzania here. We are building an infrastructure for proof of impact in regenerative work such as waste, renewable energy and sustainable practices. We have developed a Carbon backed NFT Marketplace to onboard Marginalized economies and non-web3 communities.
At ReFi Tanzania we are building a regenerative hub for research, pilots and on-ground solutions such as pyrolysis, converting waste into eco products with verifiable impact and carbon reductions.
Gm frens.
Thanks to @Carlosjmelgar and the whole optimism team for this platform.
I’m Somkene by name and I’ve been in the web3 ecosystem for about 2 years. I am a web3 community manager currently managing Alphablocks.
AlphaBlocks is a blockchain community which is committed to teaching and providing educational resources about Blockchain technology in Africa. We also share some blockchain-related job opportunities and skill-related resources.
We also run Cohort sessions on the basics of Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, quarterly every year with over 200 participants being recorded.
Our aim is to create more awareness and onboard more Web3 enthusiasts into the Blockchain industry in Africa through education.
OUR OBJECTIVES
• To propagate/preach the adoption of blockchain technology to our community members and beyond our community.
• To encourage the acquisition of blockchain-related skills in our community.
• To Provide valuable educational resources to our audience.
Feel free to reach out to us on Twitter LinkedIn
(Ps: our website is currently in progress)
Hello builders. I am Yewande, a web3 social impact advocate and Product Marketer. I am currently building Web3Rural. At Web3Rural, we are on a mission to empower youths in underserved communities of Nigeria by equipping them with in-demand web3 skills, bridging the web3 tech gap and providing opportunities for university self-funding.
Our initiative targets secondary school graduates (high school equivalent) in underserved communities (slum, ghettos and rural areas) who are financially challenged to further for a university education. We scout these talented individuals and bring them to our live-in development center In Ogun state Nigeria, and put them under comprehensive trainings and mentorship. Through this, we are paving the way for an inclusive ecosystem and effecting change in undeserved communities and the world at large.
Thank you @WandeofWeb3 we look forward to building with the community. It’s a collective and happy to have a chat if there is any way you think you might want to get involved.
Hi @Carlosjmelgar thanks for the intro.
My name is Abena, academic researcher, founder and leading ETHAccra hackathon.
ETHAccra is an active and inclusive community in Ghana, West Africa, bringing together developers, researchers, designers, and newcomers interested in web3 and blockchain technologies.
We believe that Accra and its surrounding areas have the potential to be the hub for great ideas and the driver of the Ethereum-driven ethos in West Africa.
We hosted the premier on-site hackathon in West Africa in 2023 with 120+ participants at University of Ghana in Accra. Second edition will be on August 29th - August 31st, 2024.
Do reach me out on @abena_eth on X and Telegram.
Website:www.ethaccra.xyz
X: https://twitter.com/ETHAccra
TG: Telegram: Join Group Chat
Thanks @Carlosjmelgar and all these other familiar tags! Once again, this is a great thing that you are doing here @Carlosjmelgar I’m Izzy chapter steward for Greenpill Nigeria and a Greenpill Network lead. Originally from Nigeria. We have various DePin projects going on at the moment with prototypes scheduled to deploy in April. For me infrastructure and awareness is key for our region. I believe that the strategy to get Africa involved is to start where people’s interests are, then open them up to other meaningful and impactful opportunities that can assist with the current issues. Due to this I founded SoundView which is a creator hub that can assist traditional Afro creators with using Web3 tech. This is an entertaining way of introducing Web3 and OP engagement to the region. Looking forward to doing more, thanks!
I’m KarlaGod, I’m a Business Developer and the Lead Partner at B<>rder/ess Developers Program, a Not-For-Profit that raises web3 Developers from the University communities for free, through hosting quarterly Cipher Sessions and hackathons and partnerships with various chains.
We do this by establishing physical hubs, hosting events, providing training, offering mentorship, establishing Campus Tech Clubs and launching tech projects.
Physical hubs: B<>rder/ess will have physical hubs in several African countries that provide a space for developers to learn, collaborate, and network.
Events: B<>rder/ess hosts a variety of events, such as hackathons, meetups, campus tours and conferences.
Tech Clubs: We set up tech clubs in various universities to foster peer inspiration towards learning and practicing tech skills.
These events provide developers with opportunities to learn new skills, meet new people, and share their work.
Training: B<>rder/ess offers a variety of training programs called Cipher Sessions, both online and in person.
These programs cover a wide range of courses, including:
Web design & development
Solidity
Tealscript
Data Science
Cyber Security
Product Design
Mentorship: B<>rder/ess pairs developers with experienced mentors. These mentors provide guidance and support to help developers reach their full potential.
Hey all, Jason here, thanks for starting this thread Carlos! I’m a buildr working on a few projects that all touch on Optimism actually!
What I would call my life’s work and the the starting point for everything I do is UTU, utu.io which is designed to be the Trust Infrastructure of Web 3. We actually deployed it on OP late last year and are excited to grow our Optimism footprint! Our API and SDK are available at docs.utu.io and allow a dev to integrate UTU’s decentralized repuation and feedback mechanisms into an dApp.
I’m also an instigator of the Africa Defi Alliance (africadefialliance.org) and Africa Defi Labs, two interwoven DAOs trying to build, promote, and support penetration of DeFi for real-world business loans across the continent.
I’m also an instigator of Safari DAO and our flagship event, ETHSafari.xyz working to build, promote, and support web3 in Africa.