Serving the Celo Foundation’s mission to build a financial system that creates conditions for prosperity for all, the Celo Foundation Grant Program offers financial support to help creators launch projects that expand access to decentralized technologies.
Since the launch of Celo Mainnet on Earth Day 2020, grant recipients have made tremendous contributions that have had a high impact in the communities and markets they serve:
Wave IV grant recipients reflect a wide range of expertise: blockchain infrastructure, dApps, DeFi, developer tools, ecosystem support, education and community, and UBI. The Celo Foundation is excited to announce that it has offered $9.35 million in grants to finance 50 projects for recently concluded Wave IV recipients.
Meet Celo’s Latest Grant Recipients
Name | What they did | Category | Website |
Activate | Integration of my CURA platform with Celo to improve the experience for small business owners who wait 30-90 days for settlement, super chargeback, and use time-consuming traceability paperwork. | Ecosystem Support | https://www. timetoactivate. com/ |
Amazing Blocks | Migrating Amazing Blocks tokenization software (Tokenpad) to Celo Blockchain | Technical & Research, Asset Tokenization | https://my. amazingblocks. io/ |
Bi23 | Integrating Celo with Thorchain and supporting Celo assets in swap and pool on Thorchain | Ecosystem Support | https://bi23. com/ |
Binusu USSD | Binusu USSD by creating a USSD gateway to the exchange. com (Uganda’s oldest crypto exchange) to a wider customer base | Ecosystem Support, Wallet | https://cryptosavannah. com/ |
Blockchain at Michigan | Tutorial series on how to successfully deploy a mobile-first DeFi protocol on the Celo blockchain | Education and Community, Content and Education | https://www. michiganblockchain. organ/ |
Blockchain Education Network | Creating a BEN LEARN Celo Course for beginner, intermediate, and advanced developers | Education and Community, Content and Education | https://www. blockchainedu. organ/ |
Brian Ahimbisibwe | Celo Blockchain training in Uganda | Local Developer Supporters, Education and Community | https://twitter. com/ahibis07260494 |
C Block Celo Token Creator | Create and manage smart contracts on Celo without the need for any programming skills | Technical & Research, Asset Tokenization | https://www. bitflex. app |
Calico Kittencat | Content development and community management for new developers in the ecosystem | Education and Community, Content and Education | https://twitter. com/calicokittencat |
CARE | Digital cash and coupon assistance pilot for Ecuadorians and immigrants and refugees in Ecuador and Venezuela | Ecosystem Support | https://www. resort. organ/ |
Celo Wallet | Adding WalletConnect integration, multi-account support and two community voted features to Celo Wallet App | Ecosystem Support, Wallet | https://celowallet. app/ |
Chimoney | Chimoney API support for Mobile Money, Airtime and Gift Cards for cUSD in 15 African countries | Ecosystem Support, Spending | https://www. chimoney io/ |
Chorus One | Celo Cosmos bridge | Technical and Research, Bridge | https://chorus. what’s that/ |
Cobru | Offering bank transfers and in-person cash and merchant payments at more than 25 thousand locations | Ecosystem Support, CICO | https://cobru. NS/ |
Consensys | Infura support for Celo | Technical & Research, Developer Tools | https://consensys. net/ |
Dacade | Celo course on P2P learning platform | Education and Community, Content and Education | https://dacade. organ/ |
DAOAuth | Remix IDE Plugin for wallet with celo extension | Technical & Research, Developer Tools | https://github. com/daoauth |
Dapplooker | An analytics and data visualization platform for Celo network dApps | Ecosystem Support, Blockchain Analytics | https://www. etherize io/ |
DeFi Alliance | Ecosystem Partner Program for DeFi manufacturers | Ecosystem Support, DeFi | https://www. default NS/ |
DeFi Startups Mentor (Blockchain Academy Chile) | Mentoring program in Latin America focused on DeFi startups developing financial inclusion tools and products for individuals and communities | Education and Community | https://www. blockchainacademy. cl/ |
Etherscan | Supporting Celo MainNet and Alfajores | Ecosystem Support, Blockchain Analytics | https://etherscan. io/ |
Figment Learn | Tutorials and competitions for creating advanced education dApps. | Education and Community, Content and Education | https://learn. figure io/ |
Good Ghosting | Development and rollout of GoodGhosting savings pools on Celo | Ecosystem Support, Savings, DeFi | https://goodghosting. com/ |
Grameen | Research and prototype on liquidity management for agent networks | Ecosystem Support | https://grameenfoundation. organ/ |
HexTrust Technologies | Integrate governance tools to enable institutions and investors to hold Celo assets on a compliance-driven, fully licensed custody platform | Ecosystem Support, Storage | https://hextrust. com/ |
Hope for Haiti | Digital cash assistance pilot focused on Haitian families affected by protracted social turmoil and Covid 19 | Ecosystem Support, Social Impact | https://hopeforhaiti. com/ |
Iamyourcryptonite | Involving new creators to make DeFi more accessible and easier to use with educational content | Education and Community | https://www. tik tok. com/@iamyourcryptonite? |
Impact Market | UBI pilot project | Ecosystem Support, UBI | https://www. impactmarket. com/ |
Jordan Muthemba | Developer training program in Africa | Local Developer Supporters, Education and Community | https://twitter. com/type_jordan |
Magic | Integrating Celo natively into Magic SDK | Technical & Research, Developer Tools | https://magic. link/ |
Mento GUI | Building a mobile friendly open source web dapp that allows any user to trade via Mento DEX | Ecosystem Support, AMM | https://docs. celo. org/command-line-interface/commands/exchange |
Nansen | Real-time dataset in BigQuery and Celo dashboards | Ecosystem Support, Blockchain Analytics | https://www. what would you say? ai/ |
Nestor Bonilla | developer training program in Central America | Local Developer Supporters, Education and Community | https://twitter. com/nestorbonillas |
Nonce Classic | Creating a ‘professional’ mobile wallet app with features that appeal to blockchain enthusiasts and technical users | Ecosystem Support, Wallet | https://nonce. community/classic |
PAH | Digital Cash Assistance pilot focusing on rural families in Kenya | Ecosystem Support | https://www. chamfer organ. pl/en/ |
Pezesha MSME Lending | Providing affordable credit to MSMEs by providing a unique opportunity for investors to invest through Celo stablecoins | Ecosystem Support, Loan | https://pezesha. com/ |
POAP | Using POAP in Celo to get it printed natively in Celo | Ecosystem Support, NFT | https://poap. xyz/ |
QuikNode | Support Celo MainNet in QuikNode | Ecosystem Support, Developer Tools | https://www. quicknode. com/ |
Rabbithole | Encourage users to bridge funds and use different dapps on Celo | Education and Community, DeFi | https://rabbithole. dd/ |
Ramp Network | Free support and engagement program for Celo asset users | Ecosystem Support, CICO | https://ramp. network/ |
Roda | Ecosystem Support, Unsecured Loan | ||
SaveTogether | Decentralized unsecured loan for smallholders through reputation scoring | Ecosystem Support, Unsecured Loan | https://trustworks. io/ |
Sila Money | Integration with Celo and support assets. | Ecosystem Support | https://silamoney. com/ |
Spruce | Pilot variable credentials for phone number types for the Celo network’s attestation services. | Technical and Research, Decentralized Identity | https://www. spruceid com/ |
Stabiliti Carbon Track | Integration with Celo to create trust anchors for carbon credit chains and verified carbon credit certificates | Ecosystem Support, Regenerative Economy | Stabiliti Carbon Track |
Tero Labs | Improving the Celo Economics Protocol and Stability Simulation | Technical and Research, Economics Protocol | https://www. terolabs. organ/ |
Tokensoft Inc. | Helping move Tier-1 assets to the Celo network | Technical and Research | https://www. tokensoft. io/ |
Wildchain | Supporting real-world conservation efforts within a mobile game | https://wildchain. io/ | |
Y Blockchain India | Organizing a Hackathon and Summit in collaboration with Celo, mainly India, to grow the Celo and Yblockchain audience | Education and Community, Hackathon | https://yblockcha. of/ |
Zeno Media | Working with Celo wallet as a solution for remittances to help cash out, especially for banks and mobile operators in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. | Ecosystem Support, Remittance | https://www. xenomedia com/ |
Would you like to be a part of Celo’s mission?
If you would like to improve Celo or contribute to the ecosystem, please check the links below:
- The Celo Foundation Grant Program
- Celo Camp
- Make Crypto Mobile Hackathon
- Alliance for Prosperity
Follow us to be informed about the latest developments:
- Celo Discord
- Celo Twitter
- Celo Instagram
Meet the Founder in Residence, built on Celo!
The Founder in Residence program is a paid position at the Celo Foundation where founders can start building something new. We offer founders the opportunity to grow through funding within the Celo Foundation in 3-6 months, bringing them together with mentorship and technical resources. If you’re looking for a place to start something new in crypto, this is the place for you!
Alejandro, a designer-engineer who helps people gain access to the monetary systems they want, is now working on a lightweight dollar wallet that’s accessible to everyone, inspired by the situation in his hometown of Venezuela.
Eric is building Pollen, a USSD savings circle platform that will provide P2P loan services to farmer cooperatives in Zambia, including those still using clamshell phones. The pollen is a collaboration between OpenCelo (creators of CeloHub, Mobius and Centro) and Fourth Line Limited, a honey producer in Zambia that provides beehives to small farmers.
Charles is a goal-oriented entrepreneur focused on building the decentralized economy in Africa. He is the co-founder of SunCulture, a solar-based agricultural asset financing company that has raised $30 million in funds to increase the incomes of smallholder farmers in Kenya.
As part of the Celo Founder in Residence program, Charles is working on Nuzo to create economic opportunities for small and medium businesses in Kenya with digital marketing and payment technologies built on the Celo blockchain.
Guillermo is a Venezuelan entrepreneur who has been working in the crypto space since 2013. Trained in banking and finance, Guillermo promotes the use of crypto to protect against financial inclusion and hyperinflation. He is currently the founder of El Dorado, a P2P exchange that enables the purchase of cUSD in Latin American fiat currencies with Celo’s mobile-first technology.
Steffen is an entrepreneur and team builder with the goal of creating economic opportunities and building a decentralized global economy. He has product management experience and has previously worked in consumer technology, virtual reality and fintech in Kenya. Steffen is currently working on Kukuza, a mobile-first micro-investment and lending community for local savings circles in emerging markets. Kukuza will be structured as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) built on the Celo blockchain.
Di Lee, a PhD student at MIT, is interested in the crypto economy and the bottom-up organization of society and organizations. As a way to make this a reality, Di Lee is creating Web3 for the KnoxEdge Market, a community-driven learning and investment platform that hosts weekly collective predictions-based knowledge markets.
If you would like to join us, applications are open for Cohort 2.