Please follow this template to create the topic:
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What is your Applicant Name?
Innocent Norvinu -
What is your Email?
Innocent6448@gmail.com -
Can you provide more information about yourself?
Innocent Norvinu is the Head of Operations at Blockfinax and serves as Project Evaluator, Finance and Marketing Executive, and co-founder at Gateway to Digital Technology. A passionate Blockchain and AI enthusiast, he combines strong financial and marketing expertise with a deep understanding of emerging technologies. He has actively contributed to the Cardano ecosystem, driving governance, community initiatives, and project incubation for the past three years.
Team members:
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What is the name of the project?
BandChain Student Developers Launchpad -
What category does the project fall under? (Development, Research, Community, Infrastructure)
community -
Can you provide a project description?
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The blockchain industry holds immense potential for addressing unemployment and economic challenges in Africa. Yet, awareness and education at the grassroots level remain limited, especially among students. Most African university students remain unaware of the Band Protocol blockchain ecosystem, its data-driven architecture, and the opportunities it provides in building real-world applications for smart contracts, data verification, and decentralized innovation. Despite Africa’s growing tech ecosystem, the Band Protocol network has yet to establish a strong grassroots developer presence across the continent.
With structured outreach and educational engagement, Band Protocol can nurture a generation of young African developers who understand band ecosystem—capable of building applications that drive trust, transparency, and sustainability in addressing local challenges with global relevance.
As part of our awareness creation on blockchain technology in Africa and our value addition to the Band Protocol community, we will leverage on our expert knowledge and industry network to partner with industry experts and NGOs within the Web 3 Ghana community, a community with vast experience in the blockchain ecosystem, to introduce a quarterly educational outreach program that will provide a platform to educate student communities in Ghana on blockchain and band protocol network, dubbed BandChain Student Developers Launchpad, under the auspices of Band Protocol Ghana– a community we intend to establish to manage this initiative. This is aimed at awareness creation, onboarding and empowering of young Africans—especially students and young student start-ups—to identify and explore opportunities available to them within the blockchain space and the Band Protocol ecosystem
We aim to scale-up the developer base of the Band Protocol ecosystem through this initiative and also attract and onboard students, developers, and innovators into the Band Protocol network. The initiative will introduce Band Protocol’s vision of a decentralized data economy, its unique oracle infrastructure, and practical use cases to the Ghanaian universities.
IMPLEMENTATION
After approval, we intend to host an educational seminar in a selected university. This is our first step in identifying and establishing vibrant community members. This event will be hosted quarterly across four identified universities in Ghana, targeting young students and student startups prepared to learn and deploy digital technology in their operations. This proposal is the first of such events, with focus on not just awareness creation on the Band Protocol ecosystem but also our first step in growing the community base of the ecosystem. The success from this would enable us to pursue our long-term goal of hosting quarterly in-person events across other universities in Ghana upon the appraisal and support of the Band Protocol grant foundation.
These events will focus on blockchain technology, targeting university communities and tech hubs in Ghana with the following focus areas as a starting point:
a. Introduction to Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology
b. Understanding Band Protocol and Decentralized Oracles
c. Wallets, Tokens, and Digital Identity
d. Community Engagement and Career Opportunities
- What are the project goals?
a. Promote Awareness and Understanding of Band Protocol’s Oracle Technology
To educate students and young innovators on the fundamentals of the Band Protocol ecosystem—its interoperability, scalability, and reliability—thereby building a foundational understanding of how Band Protocol differs from traditional blockchains.
b. Establish Ghanaian-Based Band Protocol Communities
We aim to build and nurture active Band Protocol communities across universities and technology hubs in Ghana. This community will serve as learning, collaboration, and innovation centers where students, developers, and blockchain enthusiasts can explore Band Protocol’s technology and its practical applications
c. Foster Innovation and Value Creation within the Band Protocol Ecosystem
We seek to inspire and support the development of creative ideas and local solutions that leverage Band Protocol’s decentralized oracle technology. By nurturing a new generation of developers and entrepreneurs, we will help build applications that address real-world challenges — enhancing trust, transparency, and data reliability — while contributing to the growth and adoption of Band Protocol–based solutions within Ghana and across Africa.
- How does this project bring value to the Band Ecosystem?
a.Strengthens Governance, Awareness, and Ecosystem Adoption:
Establishing Ghanaian-based Band Protocol communities and onboarding participants onto wallets and social media platforms increases participation in ecosystem governance and collaboration. It amplifies Band Protocol’s presence in Africa, raises awareness of its decentralized data economy, and ensures long-term engagement with the network.
b. Expands the Developer and Community Base in Ghana
By introducing Band Protocol to university students, tech hubs, and young innovators across Ghana, the initiative builds a grassroots network of developers familiar with Band Protocol’s oracle technology. This creates a pool of talent that can actively contribute to the ecosystem in various capacities.
c. Foster community Innovation and develop more Real-World Use Cases:
The program encourages students and startups to explore practical applications of Band Protocol’s oracle infrastructure to address local challenges. By fostering creativity and hands-on learning, it generates new data-driven solutions, educational tools, and blockchain applications that enhance the ecosystem’s relevance and adoption in Ghana.
- Can you provide a project implementation plan with milestones?
A. Activity 1: Pre-Event Setup
Milestone Outputs / Deliverables:
We’ll undertake the following
- Finalized event plan and activity schedule.
- Partnership agreements with targeted NGO or universities and student associations.
- Procurement of logistics (venue bookings, refreshments, printed materials).
Timeline: 4 weeks after approval (January)
Evidence
Upon completion of the above, we’ll provide following as proof of our work:
- Link to signed collaboration letters.
- Links to photos or receipts confirming venue and logistics reservations.
B. Activity 2: Awareness Campaign
Outputs / Deliverables
We’ll undertake the following:
- Launch of online and offline marketing campaigns with flyers and banners.
- To organize campus-based workshops successfully
Timeline: 4 weeks – February
Evidence
Upon completion of the above, we’ll provide following as proof of our work:
- Links to designed flyers, and banners.
- Media recap (photos, videos, testimonials) of the event.
C. Activity 3: Main Events Execution & Post-Event Reporting
Outputs / Deliverables
We’ll undertake the following:
- Record participants attendance
- Create at least one (1) interest group (e.g., WhatsApp or Discord).
- Post-event survey with feedback analysis.
Timeline: 2 weeks after Main event
Evidence
Upon completion of the above, we’ll provide following as proof of our work:
- Links to attendance records.
- Link to social media page
- Links to survey analysis report.
- Links to active student groups.
- What budget are you requesting? (In dollars or BAND)
We’re requesting an amount of $2850, with the following budget breakdown:
Budget Breakdown
Venue & Logistics
- Venue rental, seating setup, audio-visual equipment, refreshments – $700
Marketing & Promotion - Flyers, banners, social media ads, photography/videography – $650
Coordination & Facilitation - Speakers’ stipends, MC, and volunteer coordination –$750
Materials & Supplies - Branded materials, badges, stationery, and educational handouts – $550
- Contingency (Unforeseen costs) – $200
- Total Budget: $2,850