The Lagos Campaign: Blockchain Education in Nigeria

RootProject is partnering with ParallelScore to raise funds to develop a blockchain school in Lagos, Nigeria. 20 local students will receive full-tuition scholarships to attend the first course, slated to begin in spring of 2019.

The global demand for blockchain developers has grown rapidly in recent years. The inherently decentralized nature of the industry means that the economic geography of the new internet can benefit Africa in ways few industries before could — if the right educational opportunities are created.

CEO Adebayo Dawodu aims to engage with strategic partners and guest lecturers to create a curriculum for blockchain education to address the increasing demand for developers skilled in this emerging technology and provide opportunities for job-seekers in Lagos.

ParallelScore understands that developers must be equipped for the inevitable demands of technological advancements. Currently, we train, mobilize, and deploy talent to create innovative solutions to global challenges through the use of emerging technologies. Our developers are creating products that, 1) lift the barriers preventing access to health care, 2) simplify the phases of agriculture using low-power and cost-effective technology, and 3) facilitate engagement among community members to achieve a better quality of life. This blockchain school is a step in the direction of ParallelScore’s purpose of creating thousands of jobs in Nigeria, which it hopes will permeate through other countries in Africa.

— Adebayo Dawodu, CEO of ParallelScore

The funds raised through the campaign will be used to develop the curriculum in real time over the next several months. Coursework will begin in Q2 of 2019. A portion of the funds raised will also be used for scholarships and equipment for 20 students, who we’ll begin recruiting during the course of the campaign this fall.

“It has long been a goal among leaders of the industry to build the new internet,” said RootProject cofounder Dr. Judge, “in a way that begins to change the world’s currently-horribly geographically concentrated distribution of wealth. We’re proud to be taking action, not just talking about it.”

As ParallelScore has always been committed to living at the cutting edge of emerging technology, the addition of blockchain course offerings is a natural extension for the studio which already has a waiting list of students eager to enroll.

Stay tuned for more on how to support the campaign in the coming weeks.