{"signature": "0x7b1e161e3ebafa5586c91d75112e022d9e7fafa8bcff35581f396cee46e2259c0184ad41fe6055c6f5f8b43d0d007340b1943fe725af0f59f49e6282251c59f71c", "application": {"round": "0x3e93205b786796cf7ea70404e89c7dda3b84d07a", "answers": [{"type": "email", "answer": "chatafisha@gmail.com", "hidden": true, "question": "Email Address", "questionId": 0}, {"type": "short-answer", "answer": "@Chuche0x", "hidden": true, "question": "Telegram Handle We Can Use To Contact You", "questionId": 1}, {"type": "short-answer", "answer": "https://github.com/NEDA-LABS/WashikaDao", "hidden": false, "question": "Project GitHub Repo", "questionId": 2}, {"type": "link", "answer": "https://discord.gg/9v3MbEzPVm", "hidden": false, "question": "Link to your Public Group Chat", "questionId": 3}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "Yes, GG220, GG21", "hidden": false, "question": "Have you participated in a previous Gitcoin Grants Round? If so, please name the rounds or link the builder profile associated with previous rounds.", "questionId": 4}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "Washikadao contributes to the OSS ecosystem by providing an open-source, blockchain-based financial toolkit tailored for underserved communities in Africa, enhancing the accessibility and utility of decentralized finance (DeFi) tools. Our platform’s codebase—smart contracts, mobile UI, and governance modules—will be fully open-source under an MIT license, enabling developers globally to adapt it for local savings groups, lending circles, or other community-driven financial models. By open-sourcing these components, Washikadao not only enhances existing OSS financial tools but also inspires new projects to serve marginalized populations, amplifying the ecosystem’s reach and impact.\nFor instance our pilot with the Solar Foundation, integrating savings with solar energy access, provides a tangible blueprint for OSS projects to bridge DeFi with social impact—think “finance meets sustainability.” This enriches the ecosystem with practical, replicable examples beyond speculative DeFi apps.\n\n\n\n\n", "hidden": false, "question": "How does your project contribute to the growth of the OSS ecosystem? Please provide specific examples of how your application enhances or expands the current ecosystem.", "questionId": 5}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "Washikadao is a decentralized application on Celo that empowers underserved African communities—like VICOBAs, SACCOS, and Chamas—with tools for savings, lending, and governance, tailored to their unique needs. It enables group savings circles where women contribute cUSD weekly to pool funds, peer-to-peer lending for small loans within these groups, and community governance to vote on fund usage, such as purchasing solar products through a pilot with the Solar Foundation. Unlike mainstream DeFi platforms focused on speculative trading, Washikadao stands out with its mobile-first, multilingual design for rural users, low-cost transactions on Celo’s stablecoin ecosystem, and a purpose-driven focus on financial inclusion and sustainability. This combination of real-world utility and community empowerment differentiates it from typical dApps like Uniswap or Aave, making it a bridge between DeFi and grassroots economic resilience.\n\n", "hidden": false, "question": "What features or use cases does your dApp/App present? How is it differentiated?", "questionId": 6}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "Washikadao’s future development aims to transform it from a pilot into a scalable platform, targeting 5,000 users across Africa by mid-2026 through expanded features like multi-currency support, offline transactions, and new use cases (e.g., agricultural tools), while growing the OSS ecosystem with developer tools and regional outreach. The Gitcoin grant will fund our pilot with the Solar Foundation, allocating to enhance smart contracts and mobile UX, workshops and cUSD incentives to onboard 500 users. Operational costs like transaction fees for adoption. By achieving 2,000 transactions, , and 75 solar purchases, the pilot will validate our model, with funds ensuring technical polish, user growth, and a robust open-source foundation for long-term impact.\n\n", "hidden": false, "question": "What are your plans for further development, and how will the grant funds be used to achieve these goals?", "questionId": 7}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "\n[0x590Ab3FfA33644F1fDC648627Cd5eC937a271A20], [44747]\n\nCelo", "hidden": false, "question": "For any project deploying smart contracts on blockchain networks, please list all your deployer addresses and their corresponding blockchain networks. Use this format for each entry: [deployer_address], [chain_id]—for example, 0x123abc..., 42161 (This represents a deployer address on the Arbitrum network). Please include a separate line for each unique deployer address and blockchain combination.", "questionId": 8}], "project": {"id": "0xfd061a146da1309cf6e7fb5cdd4aaab61b298ecc23d7750ab1ac21ac9b817560", "title": "WashikaDAO", "logoImg": "bafkreiamitgbgexvfvn7vaedofjs2jyb46sf5lxip24p637iwbnidcwkje", "metaPtr": {"pointer": "bafkreifn5xmpia5ths27ldwhjd52bgurciouqmjqzovcvvwfi3d4ghjgs4", "protocol": "undefined"}, "website": "https://x.com/NedaLabs", "bannerImg": "bafkreibmhv6y3nkxrxzmpjwnopc6pd7jggqjqxtdwg3tru7r4awqhghnlm", "createdAt": 1722602186363, "userGithub": "machuche1", "credentials": {"github": {"type": ["VerifiableCredential"], "proof": {"jws": "eyJhbGciOiJFZERTQSIsImNyaXQiOlsiYjY0Il0sImI2NCI6ZmFsc2V9..N6T2joL0CiiVHUMghnWMLeByhK_lHqxW80sN70AGFRmoBKh1VdwSuYcYFgbJUsF9j-t_yGRy8ybk82VtJoIGCg", "type": "Ed25519Signature2018", "created": "2024-10-17T08:03:19.540Z", "proofPurpose": "assertionMethod", "verificationMethod": "did:key:z6MkghvGHLobLEdj1bgRLhS4LPGJAvbMA1tn2zcRyqmYU5LC#z6MkghvGHLobLEdj1bgRLhS4LPGJAvbMA1tn2zcRyqmYU5LC"}, "issuer": "did:key:z6MkghvGHLobLEdj1bgRLhS4LPGJAvbMA1tn2zcRyqmYU5LC", "@context": ["https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1"], "issuanceDate": "2024-10-17T08:03:19.540Z", "expirationDate": "2025-01-15T08:03:19.540Z", "credentialSubject": {"id": "did:pkh:eip155:1:0x037Eb04AD9DDFf984F44Ce5941D14b8Ea3781459", "hash": "v0.0.0:iQVKffa0rQspgej/2w/KljbTfS7khAyUpPP/8tJCu00=", "@context": [{"hash": "https://schema.org/Text", "provider": "https://schema.org/Text"}], "provider": "ClearTextGithubOrg#NEDA-LABS#128690151"}}, "twitter": {"type": ["VerifiableCredential"], "proof": {"jws": "eyJhbGciOiJFZERTQSIsImNyaXQiOlsiYjY0Il0sImI2NCI6ZmFsc2V9..ytJ7XfC6U1CBa9Hj1velZe4kbkByUVeSI5oCoFlkXVmQJvJKB8iJ45germwIunn5PZtEt5w-1TYJoe-jUixyBA", "type": "Ed25519Signature2018", "created": "2024-08-02T12:41:44.800Z", "proofPurpose": "assertionMethod", "verificationMethod": "did:key:z6MkghvGHLobLEdj1bgRLhS4LPGJAvbMA1tn2zcRyqmYU5LC#z6MkghvGHLobLEdj1bgRLhS4LPGJAvbMA1tn2zcRyqmYU5LC"}, "issuer": "did:key:z6MkghvGHLobLEdj1bgRLhS4LPGJAvbMA1tn2zcRyqmYU5LC", "@context": ["https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1"], "issuanceDate": "2024-08-02T12:41:44.799Z", "expirationDate": "2024-10-31T12:41:44.799Z", "credentialSubject": {"id": "did:pkh:eip155:1:0x037Eb04AD9DDFf984F44Ce5941D14b8Ea3781459", "hash": "v0.0.0:Fdg/nOPx+zNX9XabjbN3vNlPa3nKnhKys1EgHXYsUqY=", "@context": [{"hash": "https://schema.org/Text", "provider": "https://schema.org/Text"}], "provider": "ClearTextTwitter#NedaLabs"}}}, "description": "\nWashika DAO: Empowering Marginalized Communities with Governance & Alternative Financing.\n\nProject Description:\nWashika DAO is a framework and protocol aimed at transforming governance and financial inclusion for marginalized communities such as Village Community Banks (VICOBAs), Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS), and Chamas across communities in Africa and the global south overall. Built on the Celo blockchain and leveraging the use of stablecoins, Washika DAO provides a robust platform for savings, lending, and governance, designed to empower communities and promote sustainable economic growth.\n\nIssues We’re Tackling\nIn emerging markets, access to credit remains a critical barrier to economic growth and financial inclusion. Traditional banking systems often fail to serve the needs of small businesses and individuals, especially those in low-income earning communities. Despite the progress in making banking services accessible such as banking the unbanked with a basic feature phone and an ID barriers to credit access continue to impede financial empowerment. High-interest rates, stringent lending requirements, and limited financial literacy are significant challenges. \n\nOur focus is on scalable solutions that integrate innovation with existing community practices, such as the Washika DAO protocol, to create sustainable economic growth and resilience, while critically assessing the trade-offs and impacts on marginalized communities. By examining the potential of novel credit systems to empower local economies, enhance financial autonomy, and reduce dependency on conventional traditional structures.\n\nTraditional centralized means of financial inclusion such as Mpesa exist but at what cost are marginalized communities truly financially included?\n\n- Financial Exclusion: Millions of people in marginalized communities lack access to basic financial services. Washika DAO provides an inclusive platform that empowers these communities through alternative means to financing in DeFi.\n- Lack of Transparency: Traditional financial systems often suffer from opacity and corruption. Our blockchain-based solution ensures all transactions and decisions are transparent and immutable as well as all governance decisions stored onchain for transparency and proper record keeping.\n- High Transaction Costs: By leveraging decentralized finance (DeFi) principles and stablecoins utilities, we significantly reduce the cost of transactions, making financial services more affordable for marginalized communities facing high transaction costs.\n- Inefficient Lending Processes: Traditional lending processes can be slow and bureaucratic. Washika DAO automates and streamlines the process, providing quick and fair access to credit.\n\n\nGovernance\n- At the heart of Washika DAO is a decentralized governance model that ensures all members have a voice in the decision-making process. Any existing Chama can create a DAO in 3 simple steps, adding relevant fields such as members, multisig holders etc. without having to worry about web3. Anyone in the DAO is also able to put up a proposal reviewed by all at anytime. Key features include:\n- Democratic Voting: Members can propose and vote on changes to the protocol, interest rates, loan terms, and other critical decisions.\n- Transparent Operations: All governance activities are recorded on the blockchain, ensuring transparency and accountability.\n- Community-driven Proposals: Any member can submit proposals, fostering a collaborative environment where the best ideas can flourish.\n\n[![create-dao.png](https://i.postimg.cc/FztPHN97/create-dao.png)](https://postimg.cc/34BjLM0T)\n\n\nSavings:\nCommunities already operate a savings pool offchain through a model known as “Mchezo'' in Swahili, where the funds pooled shift hands every month. Washika DAO’s savings mechanism is designed to encourage financial discipline and provide a safe, transparent way to save money:\n- Secure & Transparent Savings Accounts: Members can open savings accounts that are securely managed by smart contracts. The balances will be scraped from their existing holding accounts such as bank / mobile money wallet (M-Pesa)\n- Interest Earnings: Savings pooled in the DAO earn interest, which is distributed back to the members proportionally. This adds value to the idle funds sat in their pool/ bank account.\n- Automated Management: In the near future, Smart contracts automate the process of interest calculation and distribution, ensuring efficiency and accuracy.\n\n[![balance.png](https://i.postimg.cc/pT5GvpMw/balance.png)](https://postimg.cc/Pphzzfxy)\n\nLending (In the near future):\n- Washika DAO revolutionizes the traditional lending process with a decentralized, community-focused approach:\n- Peer-to-Peer & Group Lending: Members can apply for loans that are funded directly by the community’s pooled savings. Communities can also collectively apply for a loan at better terms through a collateralized asset, such as liquid bond in this case.\n- Fair Loan Terms: Loans are granted based on predefined criteria, ensuring fairness and reducing the risk of default.\n- Automated Repayments: Repayment schedules are managed by smart contracts, making the process seamless and reliable.\n\nWhat We’re Building:\nComprehensive Governance & Financial Platform: A user-friendly interface for participating in governance, transparency in managing of funds and savings as well as applying for cost-efficient loans through alternative means of financing.\n\nAutomated savings pool: A protocol to ensure governance security and transparency for these communities, alternative means of financing utility in pooled & automated savings, stablecoin settlements & store of value and efficiency. We are also making the User experience as friendly as possible by mapping their wallets in the backend to their mobile phone numbers and linking their National IDs. This will also enable tracking of history and records.\n\nEducational Resources: Providing training and support to help members understand and effectively use the platform. This includes a DAO toolkit, all accessible in English and Swahili local language.\n\nCommunity Tools: Features to facilitate collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective decision-making.\n\n[![learnkit.png](https://i.postimg.cc/7hgKCd6X/learnkit.png)](https://postimg.cc/hQtL6CV7)\n\n\n\n", "lastUpdated": 0, "projectGithub": "NEDA-LABS", "projectTwitter": "nedalabs"}, "recipient": "0x037Eb04AD9DDFf984F44Ce5941D14b8Ea3781459"}}