Nigeria’s blockchain landscape is growing rapidly, fueled by a need for decentralized solutions to address regional economic challenges. As of 2023, Nigeria ranked second globally in cryptocurrency adoption, with approximately 13.3 million users, with over $59 billion in transactions taking place between Jul’23-Jun’24. The country’s government has also embraced blockchain, as part of the National Blockchain Policy, aiming to integrate blockchain technology into the economy and enhance services across public and private sectors.This 5-month project aims to introduce the Cosmos Hub and the AEZ into Nigeria’s web3 communities, nurturing local talent, providing essential resources, and facilitating the creation of value-driven, production-ready blockchain applications that utilize ATOM.Targetting three major regions in Nigeria, including Lagos and Abuja, the program aims to connect with 200 local developers and will :
- Deliver 3 IRL workshops and meetups, focused on developing with the Interchain Stack and launching in the AEZ
- Organize a hackathon with at least 10 project submissions
- Select 3 startups to support further with mentorship to develop their product
The hackathon and startup support will focus on practical, market-driven use cases for Nigeria, such as cross-border payments and mobile-first applications, leveraging Cosmos Hub’s capabilities.It is hoped that this targeted initiative in Nigeria will generate value for the Cosmos Hub by expanding its developer community, potentially creating new market-driven use cases, and establishing the region as a strategic hub for Cosmos Hub innovation. The increased utility, adoption, and economic activity has the potential to directly benefit ATOM. This grant also includes an allocation of 1500 ATOMs as the Prize Pool for hackathon. This program is expected to run from Jan-Mar 2025.
