Announcing Topl’s $1 Million Inaugural Grant Program for Impact-Driven Blockchain Building

Topl’s journey began when we set out to create a blockchain that, for the first time ever, was built from the ground up for inclusion, sustainable development, and making purpose profitable. After years of development, we’re ready to take the next major step for our ecosystem.

We’re ready to launch Topl’s first-ever developer grants program.

Before the end of 2022, we’re looking to fund an initial round of designers, visionaries, and changemakers looking to make radical changes to the way business is done and how markets operate — with impact as the key driver.

The projects can be at any stage; we only have three requirements:

• Your project will be built on Topl’s unique L0 blockchain protocol but can incorporate other web3 technologies.
• Grant funds will be used to drive toward concrete development milestones, ideally resulting in the launch of your MVP, at the minimum.
• The world will be a better place if you succeed.

While we can’t wait to see what our community dreams up, there are a few areas we’re particularly excited about!

📱 Mobile Accessibility

Recognizing that mobile phones are far more prevalent than any other type of internet-connected device, especially in the Global South, Topl is interested in solutions that can bring the Topl blockchain into people’s pockets. dApps and protocols that can live as a smartphone app or function through messaging protocols will be critical to bringing web3 to the next billion users.

🌱 Sustainability

A key piece of making the world more sustainable will be the creation of new incentives and novel markets that better handle the externalities of carbon and climate impact. We believe blockchain is the ideal tool to launch these new markets. DeFi can be more than just a casino — with Topl, we believe it can be the basis for ReFi, too.

💰 Impact NFTs

Just like DeFi can be more than a novel casino, NFTs can be more than mere JPEGs. They can be used to help turn intangible impact goals and claims, like the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, into tangible collectibles and tokens with real underlying value.

🤸 Proof of Identity

There is so much today that requires identity access. Banking, credit, and even being allowed to do business in the formal economy. Web3 represents both a means to provide more people with identity than ever before, as well as an exciting new toolbox for what having an identity means in the first place. Imagine a supply chain protocol that enables smallholder farmers to increase their creditworthiness through verifiable production and sales history over time.

🌐Interoperability

Web3 is big; web3 is diverse. No protocol can do everything, and the distribution of activity across different blockchains should be considered a feature, not a bug of this next iteration of the internet. Topl is looking to fund efforts that will see greater interconnectivity and exchange across various web3 protocols and projects.

However, know that the categories above are just a launchpad. If what you’re working on doesn’t fit into one of the areas outlined, that’s okay! We know we don’t have all the answers, which is exactly why we know we need you.

What makes Topl special?

Topl is the blockchain for good. We built a protocol optimized to unlock the next wave of inclusive and sustainable innovation across supply chains, markets, and the next billion.

🍃 Purpose-Built

Topl believes that sustainable and inclusive transformation requires technology built to spec. Through its unique token and smart contract design, the blockchain is uniquely capable of enabling markets and applications that unlock and incentivize positive impact.

🙌 Community-Forward

With zero minimums required for staking participation and governance, Topl will set a new standard for community control of funds and decisions. We embrace inclusion as a core tenet of what we want to enable and how we are built.

📈 Scalable & Interconnected

Blockchains thrive with scale and complexity. Topl’s protocol was designed as an L0 ecosystem of compatible chains with a highly composable token and smart contract design.

Application Information

Eligibility

1. Grant applicants must be legal entities.
2. Grant applicants must have technical capabilities — preferably in-house — to build on the Topl blockchain.
3. Grant applicants must propose an impact-centric project to build using the grant funding.
4. Applications will be considered on a project basis, as opposed to a grantee basis.
5. Grant applicants must use the grant money to fund a part or the entire building of a solution or project on the Topl blockchain.

Timeline

There are two grant application rounds.

• First round due date: September 30, 2022
• Second round due date: November 15, 2022

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

Following the submission of your application, the Topl team will review the application and respond within three weeks with a decision, a request for additional information, or a team call to provide us with additional clarity. If your application is approved, you will be required to sign an agreement and provide the necessary information for grant disbursement.

Grant disbursement will begin based on the agreed-upon timeline between Topl and the grantee and will continue as long as agreed-upon milestones are met.

How will the grant work?

• The total grant amount for 2022 is $1 million: $500,000 in cash and $500,000 in tokens.
• Grants may take the form of cash and/or tokens. Amounts and type of grant will be determined based on the type of project and the grant application.
• Grants will be disbursed based on agreed-upon milestones and project timelines.
• Tokens will be useable following the decentralization of the Topl blockchain in Q4 of 2023.
• Grantees may use grants for aspects of their project, including but not limited to engineering and product development, proving product-market fit, marketing expenses, alpha and beta launches, launch and testing MVPs.
• Grantees will be required to attend regular check-ins at predetermined intervals with the Topl grants team to ensure the proper direction and use of funds.
• Grantees whose projects are highly regarded may be eligible for the second round of grants by Topl in 2023 and onward.

It’s time to get started!

You can submit your application here and join our Discord to be part of the conversation and share ideas about how we can all build a better world with web3!

To learn more about Topl, visit our website or read our wiki. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at community@topl.me. To stay up to date with Topl, follow our socials.