[2509] Grant Proposal: Building rootstock community of developers and users in ghana

[Oluman]

Proposal: Building Rootstock Community of Developers and Users in Ghana

Project Name & Description

Project Name: Rootstock Collective Ghana
Description:
The Rootstock Collective Ghana aims to establish a vibrant ecosystem of developers, entrepreneurs, and everyday users around Rootstock (RSK) in Ghana. By leveraging educational programs, hackathons, and community-driven advocacy, this initiative will build a sustainable Web3 environment that connects Rootstock’s smart contract capabilities to real-world adoption in West Africa.

Ghana is ranked among the top 10 African countries for crypto adoption (Chainalysis 2023), with growing grassroots blockchain communities and a youthful tech-savvy population. This project seeks to harness that momentum to position Rootstock as a leading platform for Web3 innovation and financial inclusion.

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Team Background

1. Alhassan Yaminu (Project Lead)
LinkedIn

• Background in blockchain education, community organizing, and social impact projects in Ghana.

• Experience leading developer meetups and ecosystem-building initiatives.

2. Mohammed Mustapha Yakub (Technical Lead)
LinkedIn

• Blockchain and Web3 developer.

• Skilled in Solidity, DApps, and smart contract integration.

3. Mohammed Osman (Community Manager)
LinkedIn

• Experience in Web3 community growth and grassroots mobilization.

• Skilled in communications, partnerships, and onboarding new users.

4. Seidu Ziblim (Policy & Advocacy Lead)
LinkedIn

• Works at the intersection of blockchain and public policy.

• Focus on regulation, compliance, and stakeholder engagement in Ghana’s crypto ecosystem.

5. Laila Alhassan (Design & UX Lead)
Portfolio / LinkedIn

• UI/UX designer specializing in web and app design for blockchain projects.

• Expertise in creating user-friendly experiences and developer-facing resources.

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Total Grant Amount

$12,000 total request

• Milestone 1: $4,000

• Milestone 2: $4,000

• Milestone 3: $4,000

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Milestone Deliverables

Milestone 1: Awareness & Onboarding (3 months)

• Host 3 Rootstock Developer Meetups in Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale (target: 150+ participants).

• Publish 5 educational articles and beginner-friendly guides.

• Onboard 50 developers into the Rootstock ecosystem.

Milestone 2: Capacity Building & Development (3 months)

• Organize a Rootstock Hackathon with at least 10 DApps/prototypes built on Rootstock.

• Conduct training bootcamp for 50+ developers.

• Launch developer ambassador program (at least 5 active ambassadors).

Milestone 3: Sustainability & Scaling (3 months)

• Establish Rootstock Ghana Community DAO for long-term governance.

• Onboard 500+ new users via wallets and Rootstock-based apps.

• Develop 3 pilot projects in DeFi, remittances, and social impact use cases.

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Timeline

• Month 1–3: Awareness & onboarding (meetups, guides, first developers onboarded).

• Month 4–6: Hackathon + bootcamps (focus on building).

• Month 7–9: DAO setup, scaling adoption, and pilot use cases.

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Technical Specs

• Educational materials in Solidity and Rootstock smart contracts.

• Integration workshops for wallets and DApps.

• Open-source resources shared via GitHub.

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Value Proposition for Rootstock

• Ghana is among the fastest-growing Web3 hubs in Africa, ranked in the top 10 for crypto adoption (Chainalysis 2023).

• Strong grassroots developer communities (Cardano Ghana, Ethereum Ghana, Bitcoin Ghana, etc.) show a proven appetite for blockchain adoption.

• Rootstock’s EVM compatibility and Bitcoin security give it a unique edge in attracting builders.

• This project ensures long-term adoption, with local leadership, government engagement, and developer capacity building.

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Demo & GitHub Repo

• GitHub Repository (education materials, sample contracts, hackathon outputs) will be made public after Milestone 2.

• Demo DApps (wallets, DeFi prototypes, payment solutions) to be showcased at the end of Milestone 3

• PITCH VIDEO LINK

• https://drive.google.com/file/d/16tOG5VT29AaXRtFEm4pkV87MhGnjmF56/view?usp=drivesdk

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[Curia]

Thank you for putting the proposal in more detail and in the right category. We saw that you already included the Web3 adoption in Ghana like we suggested, we do appreciate that. Like we mentioned in the last version of the proposal, it would be better to include these details, e.g. how many events has the team hosted? and other questions below:

Has the team previously hosted developer events, bootcamps, or hackathons? Examples of past events or programs the team has successfully led would help us evaluate their ability to deliver on the proposed milestones.

Another thing is we take a deeper look into the Web3 landscape of Ghana on the Chainalysis 2023 and 2024 reports. As you said, Ghana is among the top 10 African countries for crypto adoption, but if we look at the bigger picture, Ghana is in Sub-Saharan Africa which has 38 countries based on the 2023 report. Compared to the rest of the world, Sub-Saharan Africa has a smaller share of the global crypto economy (2.3% in terms of value created), which is mostly led by Nigeria. Ghana is ranked 29 in terms of crypto adoption in 2023 out of 155 countries, which at first glance seems like a good potential country to deploy a local node. But the ranking in 2024 dropped significantly to 46 out of 151 countries, and in terms of DeFi value received Ghana is ranked 67.

Chainalysis 2023 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report

Chainalysis 2024 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report

This makes us doubt whether deploying a local node in Ghana is the right move, because we are not sure about the return. Could you give us a reason why we need to deploy a local node in Ghana, or provide any proof that Ghana is the country that will give enough value to Rootstock?

[Oluman]

Thanks for the feedback.Our team has organized developer programs in Ghana, including a blockchain bootcamp at the University of Ghana, Web3 workshops in Accra, and a hackathon in Kumasi. These experiences show our capacity to train and engage developers effectively. According to Chainalysis, Ghana ranked 29th in global crypto adoption in 2023 but fell to 46th in 2024, with Sub-Saharan Africa holding just 2.3% of the global crypto economy. At the same time, government support is growing—the Bank of Ghana hosted a Web3-enabled e-Cedi hackathon and is now moving to license crypto platforms in a $3 billion local market. This mix of declining adoption and rising institutional support makes a Rootstock developer community both timely and necessary. We believed by this partnership with ROOTSTOCK will essentially propel adoption, usage and developer knowledge for the ROOTSTOCK ecosystem to thrive locally here in Ghana and Africa.

[Kaf_Anode]

Thanks for putting this together. Quick observation from my side:

In the forum proposal the budget is structured across three milestones of $4,000 each (total $12,000). However, in the Rootstock Collective dApp execution the transfer went through as a single $12,000 payment to the grantee.

I assume this was a mistake, could you please clarify?

[Oluman]

Exactly so,it should have been $4000 for milestone 1, thanks for drawing our attention.

[tamlerner]

Good afternoon everyone,
Given the amount issue we will advice all community to vote against the proposal this time.

For next time, please lets ensure all format for titling, amounts and KYB is fully processed before submitting on chain.

More info here: General Guidelines for Grant Applications - #6

Thank you!