The Celo Africa DAO has supported the Celo ecosystem through 3 different focus areas.

1. The incubator program. The Celo Africa DAO has established an incubator program to nurture and support early-stage projects built on the Celo blockchain. This program provides entrepreneurs and developers with the necessary resources, mentorship, and funding opportunities to transform their innovative ideas into fully functional dApps. The incubator focuses on projects that align with Celo's mission of financial inclusion and sustainability, helping to expand the ecosystem by fostering the next generation of impactful blockchain solutions in Africa. These projects are further recommended to Celo Camp for further scaling and development. Some of our cohort graduates have launched on Minipay.

2. Developer Talent. To drive innovation and growth within the Celo ecosystem, the Celo Africa DAO places a strong emphasis on attracting, developing, and retaining top developer talent. The DAO organizes monthly code jams (technical workshops), mini-hackathons, and workshops aimed at equipping developers with the skills needed to build dApps on the Celo platform. By creating a robust pipeline of skilled developers, the DAO ensures that the Celo ecosystem has the technical expertise necessary to scale and evolve, particularly in the African context where local solutions are most impactful. Additionally, these monthly code jams have been supporting BWC(build with Celo) hackathons to get the most out of them, and the results and metrics have been impressive. Most of the promising projects are forwarded to the incubator program and Celo Camp

3.  Community Awareness & Brand Visibility. Celo Africa DAO actively works to raise awareness of the Celo brand and its mission across Africa. To amplify Celo's presence, the DAO has partnered with and sponsored major Web3 events across the continent. These high-profile events provide a platform to showcase Celo’s innovative solutions to a wider audience, including developers, entrepreneurs, and blockchain enthusiasts. By being visible on these big stages, Celo Africa DAO not only increases adoption of the Celo platform but also positions Celo as a key player in the African Web3 landscape. This strategy strengthens the ecosystem's reputation and fosters a deeper connection with the community, driving engagement and advocacy for Celo's mission of financial inclusion and social impact.

Our roadmap for the Q3 & Q4 2024 will include:
1.  Expanding Community Engagement i.e. Community Events & Meetups, University Partnerships, and Sponsorship of Major Web3 Conferences:
2. Strengthening Developer Talent & Ecosystem Growth i.e. Hackathons & Innovation Challenges
3.  Incubating and Scaling Impactful Projects i.e. Incubator Cohorts and Ecosystem Collaboration.
