Africa’s first blockchain hackathon on sustainable development #Power2020

According to the World Bank , there is a direct relationship between a nation’s access to affordable and reliable energy and its economic growth. Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all is one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDG 7). Despite being Africa’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, multiple sources estimate that majority of Nigeria’s population are unable to access uninterrupted electricity to fulfil basic needs. In many areas especially the more remote areas, those connected to the main electricity grid experience intermittent energy supply everyday. There is also a lack of renewable energy in Nigeria as renewable energy accounts for only 13% of the total electricity generated (GIZ). This further emphasises the shortfall in regard to SDG7. Energy supports the provision of basic needs and fuels productive activities including developments in the technology sector.

Over the last couple of years, Nigeria has witnessed a rapid proliferation of capital into the tech startup ecosystem with over $100M raised in the FinTech ecosystem between 2015–2017 alone (Github). Our hypothesis is that the longevity and growth of Nigeria’s startup ecosystem is highly dependent on access to affordable and reliable sources of energy. The energy sources and distribution mechanisms in Nigeria therefore need to be diversified to meet the rising energy demand from the population so as to avoid crippling Nigerians’ entrepreneurial spirit.

Introducing ETHLagos!

The vision of ETHLagos is to leverage blockchain technology to add value to the Nigerian and ultimately the African energy sector. Blockchain systems provide the facility for peer to peer exchange of assets and in the case of electricity, blockchain systems could enable a cost reduction where energy is traded directly between the producer and the consumer and more people have access to energy. In addition, blockchain based energy solutions make energy exchange more secure using the security and immutability of the blockchain. ETHLagos seeks to help find sustainable solutions to transform and support projected economic growth and development in the country and continent as a whole.

ETHLagos is a hackathon where software developers and entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to learn about blockchain and energy through a variety of workshops delivered by blockchain and energy experts from GIZ, IEEE, ABA, ETHImpact and other global partners. There will be 4 days of virtual and in person workshops and 2 days of coding. This is to give coders (software developers) enough time to get up to speed on the principles of blockchain and energy. The engagement doesn’t just end after the hackathon. The ETHLagos team has put plans in place to keep supporting winning teams and solutions with incubation, acceleration and mentorship post the hackathon through an extensive network of international partners, mentors and innovation hubs. Hackathon participants will also have the opportunity to pioneer blockchain pilots for the energy sector which could lead to building sustainable businesses in the long run. Ultimately, ETHLagos is seeking to complement ongoing activities in the energy sector and speed up developments using the potential of blockchain and related innovations.

ETHLagos welcomes attendees and applicants from all walks of life including startups, corporations, software developers/coders, energy engineers, entrepreneurs, community members, everyone!

Application tracks are grouped into hackers (both tech and non-tech people are welcome — software developers, energy engineers, entrepreneurs, product designers, sales and marketing people anyone), judges and volunteers. Let’s all build decentralised energy together! Apply today! Visit our website: ethlagos.io.

Follow us on Twitter: @ethlagos

Dates: March 29 — April 4th 2020

Location: Lagos, Nigeria.

For inquiries, please email info@afriblockchain.org; tweet or dm @ethlagos or visit our website.

Welcome to Lagos!

As part of the activities for participants and visitors, we have specially curated experiences to showcase Lagos and ensure all visitors have a great stay as part of Africa Blockchain Week. Experience Africa’s most vibrant and most populous city! Lagos!

Lagos is the arts and music centre of the country. With a highly charged tech community and a high percentage of millennials, the city doesn’t sleep. Popular Lagos greetings are Ekaro, Howfar? and Wassup?

Next steps

We know you’re so excited and can’t wait! So hang on and stay tuned for more information on the schedule for ETHLagos and blockchain week, speakers, and all the exciting activities we have lined up for you as well as information on travel arrangements, visas, hotels and more! We’ll be sending this information in the coming days and weeks.

We can’t wait to welcome you to Lagos!

See you all soon!

*Barka da zuwa! Ekaabo!! Nnoo!!!

*(The three words in italics above mean “Welcome” in Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo respectively — Nigeria’s three largest indigenous languages).

ETHLagos: #BUIDLing decentralized energy solutions was originally published in Blockchain in Africa on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Africa Blockchain Alliance launched the Africa Blockchain Developer Program in March 2019 in partnership with Consensys Academy, the educational arm of ConsenSys, a market-leading blockchain technology company.

Our vision with the program is to train 1000 blockchain developers across Africa and empower them with the tools they need to leverage blockchain to solve some of the pressing problems in Africa and the world.

The developer course is online and includes new and improved content that incorporates feedback from previous ConsenSys Academy graduates. The course which was created alongside top blockchain developers at ConsenSys and the Ethereum ecosystem covers Ethereum concepts, introduces key developer tools and critical aspects of smart contract and dApp development including building a front end and security best practices. The Africa Blockchain Alliance and its network of partners across the continent provide additional support through mentors, meetups, community events and in-person sessions in select African cities.

The first cohort of the program is graduating this month (July 2019) and applications are now open for the second cohort starting in August 2019. Africa Blockchain Alliance is looking to increase the number of developers and country representation with this next cohort and will also be awarding scholarships to a number of developers for the program, thanks to a $10,000 grant from ConsenSys Grants, which was announced during the 2019 Ethereal Summit in New York in May 2019.

Unveiling the first set of blockchain developers out of the program

The first cohort of the program had developers from seven African countries participate in the program.

The program saw the developers go through an intensive curriculum with mentors from the ABA network mentoring and supporting the developers through weekly office hours; answering developer questions and guiding the developers through their end of program projects.

The graduating students from the program will be placed in one of three tracks for ongoing support by the end of the program. These tracks include:

• Projects: Working on blockchain projects as a freelance developer.
• Job Placement: Joining global blockchain companies as a blockchain developer.
• Startup: Starting a blockchain project or startup to address unique African challenges.

Here’s what some of the developers had to say about the program:

The Africa Blockchain Developer Program is one of the best online education programs I’ve taken in my life. It has successfully initiated me into the Blockchain space, and fully-prepared me for venturing into this emerging technology sector.

“The Africa Blockchain Developer Program was quite informative both in a theoretical and practical aspect. The mentorship and office hour sessions were top notch and provided efficient and quick solutions in situations where i was stuck technically.”

Three months ago, I joined the first cohort of the Africa Blockchain Developer Program. It gave me the opportunity to learn more about ethereum blockchain development. I learned to develop solidity smart contracts and I built my own decentralized application using solidity and truffle. Thanks to Africa Blockchain Alliance for giving me the opportunity to be part of this program. I highly recommend it to every African developer interested in blockchain development.

Registration for Cohort 2

Applications are now open for the second cohort of the program. This will be a bigger and improved cohort, drawing upon lessons from the first cohort. ABA has on-boarded 10 additional technical mentors from our network (with more in the pipeline) thus increasing the capacity to support more developers. We have also partnered with incubation and acceleration hubs in various African cities where the developers can go into for internet access; be in a conducive working environment and to network with each other and ABA members in those cities.

Developers on the course will have access to dedicated mentors who will have weekly office hours with them for 1 to 2 hours per week and answer their questions daily. Developers will also have unlimited access to an online forum with over 2,000 developers who are all current and past developers trained by Consensys Academy.

Just like the first cohort, the program will run for a period of 11 to 12 weeks (approximately 3 months). Graduates will be issued certificates on the Ethereum blockchain upon successful completion of the course and delivery of a project. Graduates will also be placed on one or more of the 3 tracks mentioned above for ongoing support.

As earlier mentioned there are a limited number of scholarship opportunities available. Information on how to apply for the scholarship will be communicated after a successful application to the program.

Apply here for the program

For more information, please visit our website or send an email to developer@afriblockchain.org

We also welcome collaborations with various local and international groups to join us in this movement to train developers en masse as we strive to make Web3 and the world more inclusive, open and fair.

For more information, please visit: www.afriblockchain.org

or contact

partnerships@afriblockchain.org

Sign up for our newsletter: ABA Newsletter

Find us on social media:

Medium: Africa Blockchain Alliance

Twitter: @AfriBlockchain

Africa Blockchain Developer Program | Announcements and Updates was originally published in Blockchain in Africa on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Johannesburg, South Africa — February 06, 2019.

The Africa Blockchain Alliance has partnered with ConsenSys Academy, the educational core of the Ethereum movement to bring to focus the Blockchain Developer Program to Africa.

The goal of this program is to give developers the opportunity to gain the skills necessary to become industry-ready blockchain developers that can add significant value to their organizations, businesses, or make them marketable to top blockchain companies across the globe.

This developer course will be online and includes new and improved content that incorporates feedback from previous ConsenSys Academy graduates. This course has been created alongside top blockchain developers at ConsenSys and the Ethereum ecosystem. The course will cover Ethereum concepts, introduce key developer tools and critical aspects of smart contract and dApp development including building a front end and security best practices. The Africa Blockchain Alliance and its network of partners across the continent will provide additional support through mentors, meetups, community events and in-person sessions in select African cities.

“I am particularly excited about this initiative as this is our contribution to helping bridge the global blockchain knowledge gap in order to help meet the demand for blockchain developers as well as creating more diversity in the blockchain world. This program also has the potential to create employment for the graduates. Finally, blockchain expertise in Africa owned by Africans to deliver blockchain solutions is lacking and we are excited to be leading the charge in this regard” said Ben Onuoha, Founder of the Africa Blockchain Alliance.

The program will run for a period of 11 to 12 weeks (approximately 3 months) starting from March 2019. Graduates will be issued certificates on the Ethereum blockchain upon successful completion of the course and delivery of a project.

For more information, please visit: www.afriblockchain.org/developer/

or contact

Chinedu Onyeaso

Head of Partnerships and Community, Africa Blockchain Alliance

developer@afriblockchain.org

James Beck
PR Coordinator, ConsenSys
PR@ConsenSys.net

Press Release: Africa Blockchain Alliance (ABA) Partners with ConsenSys Academy to offer ConsenSys… was originally published in Blockchain in Africa on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Africa Blockchain Alliance (ABA) was born out of the realisation that one man alone or a few individuals cannot make a significant change to a continent as rich and diverse as Africa. To help in this quest, the idea of ABA was born to create a network of highly motivated, Afrocentric individuals, groups and organisations willing to bet on the future of the continent.

We believe that unlocking blockchain technology on the continent would lead to increased intra-Africa integration through easier movement of people, value, goods and services. Blockchain technology has the potential to unlock better access to financial and health services, create new jobs and a host of other benefits. The promise of blockchain, therefore, informs our vision of an interconnected Africa where there is free movement of resources to uplift Africans.

The African blockchain landscape is currently at an early stage with few blockchain support services and structures. ABA has created various platforms and partnerships to educate and network blockchain stakeholders across the continent. We have grown to 9 country associations (and counting) who are pushing for blockchain adoption in their countries and all across the continent. This has involved both tech and non-tech education, as well as engagement with policymakers in different countries. We have successfully co-hosted and organised meetups, conferences, discussions and other community engagement efforts that regularly bring blockchain actors together in various African cities to explore local use cases with their local context in mind. We also have members and advocates working towards accelerating blockchain adoption across the continent. We provide ongoing support and guidance to various blockchain projects operating in Africa or looking to get into the African market.

Technology and in particular the internet has truly revolutionised humanity. It has enabled seamless social and business interactions and broken down geographical borders such that the world is now one huge global village. However, it is of utmost importance that we recognise the problems and challenges the internet has created in order to solve them. This massive growth of the internet has led to violations of individuals’ privacy, autonomy by a few powerful entities, and inequality which has left many people behind. Many of these people left behind are in Africa. The benefits of the internet also assume that everyone can get on the internet. Many people in Africa cannot. This is perhaps because in the foundational and early days of the internet, platforms and protocols that could have made the internet work for many people in Africa may not have been considered. There are 1 billion+ people in Africa and billions more in the developing and emerging world who we need to put into consideration as we build for Web3.

We at ABA believe that with Web3 (blockchain), majority of the people in Africa and other emerging markets can be carried along into the digital age. We actually have a chance to make an input into the protocols, platforms and solutions for Web3 such that it works for the majority of our people and those in the emerging world. ABA has launched various task teams to research, propose and develop practical steps and solutions that can help bridge this digital divide using blockchain. Our task teams in collaboration with partners and members have identified use cases with the local African context in mind. We will be proposing and building practical solutions to help address these problems. These proposals and solutions will be shared at our forthcoming gatherings, partner events and also published through our media channels.

It’s an exciting year ahead for ABA as we will be on-boarding more country associations and embarking on massive blockchain education (both tech and non-tech). We will also be collaborating with various local and international groups, building vibrant communities of blockchain enthusiasts on the continent, and proposing practical solutions that will make Web3 work for people in Africa and the developing world. We invite you to join us in this movement to make Web3 and the world more inclusive, open and fair.

Please visit www.afriblockchain.org for more information

Sign up for our newsletter: ABA Newsletter

Find us on social media:

Medium: Africa Blockchain Alliance

Twitter: @AfriBlockchain

Facebook: Africa Blockchain Alliance

Linked in: Africa Blockchain Alliance

Instagram: @AfriBlockchain

Africa Blockchain Alliance: Building an interconnected continent was originally published in Blockchain in Africa on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.