Kenya Scroll Local Node Founder Program

Proposal Type: Growth

Website: www.web3clubs.xyz
X: @Web3Clubs
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Summary

This proposal requests a $30,000 (SCR 92401.51 as of 25/05/2025) grant from Scroll DAO to support the Kenya Scroll Node Founder Program, a 3-month, cohort-based initiative by Web3Clubs, East Africa’s leading Web3 incubator. The program aims to launch 5–10 Scroll-powered projects by integrating African builders, financial institutions, and regulators into the Scroll ecosystem.

Anchored in our Nairobi innovation lab and backed by a 5,000+ member community, the program will drive the adoption of scalable, compliant, and user-focused dApps and DeFi solutions across East Africa. To enrich the program’s offering and ensure a strong pipeline of talent and ideas, we are actively fostering collaborations with established local Web2 developer and founder communities notably Google Developer Groups Nairobi, Strathmore iLabAfrica, and Product Managers KE in founder scouting and local events.

To align with Scroll’s educational mission, the program will mobilise Founders and Builders in the region to join the Open Zero, Scroll’s flagship learning track, into its onboarding, offering founders a guided pathway from idea generation to real-world deployment. Through immersive training, participants will learn how to refine their ideas, build publicly, craft user-focused MVPs, design intuitive interfaces, communicate their value through compelling pitches, and develop sustainable growth strategies, all while preparing their projects for successful launch on the Scroll network.

Using a three-stage pipeline, Msingi, Daraja, and Vuka, participants move from ideation to launch, supported by mentorship, technical sprints, business modeling, and investor preparation.

Through a Founder Factory model, we are enabling Africa based builders to launch Scroll-powered MVPs.

• Position Scroll as the foundational infrastructure for onchain finance in Africa.
• Connect Scroll with TradFi institutions through active pilot projects.
• Provide mentorship, technical resources, and real-world user testing.
• PushLaunch successful cohort participants to openeconomy.xyz

Funding Request:

• Amount: $30,000
• Duration: 3 months
• Usage: Personnel, mentorship, bootcamps, product showcases, builder bounties, and essential tools

Stakeholders:

• Web3Clubs: Project lead, operational team, and host of the Nairobi Lab
• Scroll DAO: Strategic funder and ecosystem partner; Native Scroll founders
• African Web3 Builders/Founders: Project beneficiaries
• DeFi Partners: ViFi
• Regulatory Partners: Capital Markets Authority, Ministry of ICT, Konza City
• TradFi Partners: Nairobi Securities Exchange, Web2 payment service providers, and mobile money platforms
• Local Event Organisers, Community Partners and KOLs: Code Africa (June); Kenya Blockchain and Crypto Conference (July); Zanzalu; ETHSafari (September)
• Founder Mentors & Advisors: Industry leaders in Web3 Startups
• Existing Incubator Partners

Motivation

Deploying the future of African financial Infrastructure onchain

With its ever-growing youth population, Africa is projected to have the largest population of tech consumers. Its developer community is already one of the fastest-growing in the world. Yet, only 5.8% of global Web3 developers are African, and less than 5% of Web3 startups are based on the continent. This isn't a gap. It’s a chasm. And it’s exactly the kind of opportunity we exist to solve.

DeFi presents true transformative potential across the globe. However, this shift will be stunted unless we empower the founders and DeFi projects that can create tailored solutions for underserved regions, particularly in Africa. With a glaring gap in knowledge and access, this disparity will either enable or hinder the continent’s ability to leapfrog traditional finance and claim its place in the rapidly growing DeFi ecosystem. As of 2024, the DeFi market is valued at over $100 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL), with projections set to reach $250 billion by 2025 and $1 trillion by 2030, driven by the integration of DeFi with traditional finance, tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), and global adoption. The path to this future depends on building the local infrastructure and empowering regional innovators to realize the potential of decentralized finance fully.

We believe the future of finance must be inclusive by design. That means building rails that enable borderless transfer of value and doing this by supporting builders who know what it means to be underbanked, who understand the informal economy, who live with the pain points of remittances, savings, trade, and credit access every day, and empowering them to build solutions that scale.

Just like Y Combinator was designed to help technical founders turn ideas into global companies, we’re building the infrastructure to help Africa’s next generation of builders become Web3-native founders, creating web3-native solutions that serve a billion people across cross-border payments, stablecoins integrations to mitigate dollar pressure, loans and credit, neo-banking savings, and investments, cooperative societies and community governance and well as newer use-cases like core DeFi products.

We're seeding an economic revolution that puts Africa on the map as a hub of innovation that defines the future of open finance and Web3 innovation.

What this means for Scroll DAO:

• Launching on an Existing incubator space: Our centralized physical base of operations in Nairobi, together with our network of stakeholders and active builders spread across Africa, forms a good base for this Founder program.
• Bridging the Gap between TradFi and DeFi: Despite Global counterparts of legacy financial institutions e.g BlackRock exploring DeFi and tokenization, most African giants have still not caught up. Our partnerships with traditional financial institutions (e.g., Nairobi Securities Exchange, Capital Markets Authority in Kenya & Rwanda, Digital Financial Services Association of Kenya, Konza Technopolis SEZ) all of whom collectively have over $1 billion in assets under management, provide fertile ground for Scroll-powered use cases that bridge the gap between DeFi and TradFi.
• Long-Term Market Growth: Through high-trust relationships in academia, government, and industry, Web3Clubs is building a scalable, regional pipeline of contributors, founders, and policy shapers intent on defining Africa’s DeFi future, with Scroll embedded at the core.
• Home-grown, trained, and Mentored Founders ready for openeconomy.xyz

Execution

Operational

Our mission is clear: to birth the next generation of African Web3 startups, and we’ve architected an end-to-end pipeline that takes talent from zero to launch, and beyond.

Over the 3-month project period, we shall operate through three focused phases, with aggressive milestones at each stage:

1. Msingi (Swahili word for foundation) - Founder Onboarding– Talent + Infrastructure + Partnerships
2. Daraja (Swahili word for Bridge) (Ecosystem Building Phase) – Business Modeling + MVP Validation + GTM
3. Vuka (Swahili word for Cross) Transition Phase – Product Scaling + Initial User Onboarding + Market Integration

Strategic Themes we can start with:

• Make DeFi more liquid, more frictionless, more scalable by:
  • Expanding DeFi Liquidity and Capital Efficiency - Focus on unlocking deeper liquidity and improving how capital is used across DeFi. This includes integrating with protocols like Morpho Blue, Aave V3, or Compound to deliver better yields while managing risk.
  • Improving User Experience and Onboarding - Make DeFi more accessible by simplifying interfaces, speeding up transactions, reducing gas costs, and streamlining the onboarding process for new users.
  • Exploring DeFi Consumer Apps for emerging markets
  • Enhancing Yield Through Innovative Strategies - Use advanced models like liquid staking, yield aggregation, and staking-as-a-service to boost returns. Prioritize strategies that protect capital while maximizing yield.
  • Cross-Chain Liquidity Solutions - Enable seamless asset swaps across chains with low fees and minimal friction by building or integrating cross-chain liquidity protocols.
  • Unified DeFi Analytics and Data - Develop interoperable analytics tools that give users a clearer picture of DeFi markets and help them make better decisions.
  • Smart Matching Engines for Lending Markets - Build rate-optimizing engines on top of lending protocols like Aave or Compound to help users get the best borrow and lend rates automatically.
• Bridging the Gap between TradFi and DeFi
  • Institutional-grade lending and borrowing at affordable interest rates
  • Activation of DeFi and RWA “sleeping capital” via yield strategies, tokenization and Novel collateral frameworks (RWA, on-chain reputation, local FX hedging)
  • Affordable FX rails and cross-border settlements
  • Re-usable, scalable KYC frameworks for DeFi and TradFi
  • Governance systems optimized for local contexts and on-chain legitimacy
  • Local currency stablecoins
  • Products designed to scale beyond Kenya, with interoperability at the core

Activities

Scroll Node Program (14 Weeks)

Agenda	Key Objectives	Key Activities	Timeline
Planning & Setup	Align team, finalize logistics, begin outreach	Recruit mentors, set schedules, confirm partner alignment, internal planning, finalize builder shortlists	Week 1–2
**Phase 1: MSINGI (Foundation)**Founder Onboarding	Identify and onboard high-agency founders/projects from East Africa	2 Weekly Hybrid Webinars 1 In-person Meetup	Week 3
	Begin technical and business orientation for founders	Kickoff founder onboarding sessions, Scroll onboarding, goals alignment	Week 4
Product Refinement + MVP Validation	Improve product clarity, scope and alignment with Scroll ecosystem	2 Business Strategy Bootcamps 2 Technical Sprints @ Nairobi Lab On-call mentor support	Week 5–6
Phase 2: DARAJA (Bridge) Partner Matching & GTM	Facilitate technical & market integrations with key DeFi & TradFi partners	1 Integration Sprint (with partner orgs) - DeFi Partner Explorations (Aave, Compound, Pendle, etc.) - TradFi API Testing (Payments, Mobile Money)	Week 7
	Craft market strategy, test product-user fit	Business Model Development GTM Strategy Workshops On-call Business Support	Week 8

OPEN ZERO PROGRAM | 6 Weeks

Agenda	Key Objectives	Key Activities (Open Zero)	Timeline
Week 1 of Open Zero – Generating Ideas	Explore project ideas relevant to Scroll ecosystem	Idea Generation Lecture Submit Idea Forms Idea Lab + Vlog	Week 9
Week 2 – Build in Public	Grow presence and project visibility in Web3 circles	Build in Public Lecture + Lab Submit Progress Form Workshop: Arcana Integration	Week 10
Week 3 – MVP Building	Develop a functional MVP on Scroll	MVP Lecture + Lab Workshop: Wallets with Reown Submit MVP Forms	Week 11
Week 4 – Design for Web3	Improve UX/UI and product usability	Design Lecture + Lab Submit Design Forms Design Vlog	Week 12
Week 5 – Demos & Pitch Prep	Refine product pitch and demo readiness	Demos Lecture + Lab Submit Demo Forms Pitch Coaching	Week 13
Week 6 – Growth & Submission	User acquisition & final submission	Growth Lecture + Lab Submit Growth Plan Final Submission Week + Judging + Winners	Week 14

Tools & Process

Resource Need	Tools
Co-working space/bootcamp space	Our centralized physical base of operations in Nairobi
Project & Cohort Management:	Asana for tracking, Notion, GitHub, Google Sheets, Youtube
Community Feedback Loops:	WhatsApp, X spaces & Discord learning groups, with structured surveys
Transparency & Reporting:	Monthly Progress Reports, Recorded Sessions on Youtube
Reputation Infrastructure	Karma

Personnel & Resources

Core Admin Team:j

S.A. Kakai - DeFi Strategy & Legal Analyst
Kakai is a legal expert at Steakhouse Financial, advising top DeFi projects like MakerDAO, Lido, and Morpho. He also serves as Director at the Virtual Assets Chamber, working with regulators and industry leaders to shape progressive digital asset policy in Africa. As a mentor, he supports builders in creating legally sound and inclusive crypto ecosystems.

Alex Matu: Mobilization, Scouting & Builder Outreach + Operations
Alex, Co-Founder and Programs Lead at Web3Clubs, is focused on connecting African talent to the Web3 frontier. He has helped onboard 5,000 builders to Ethereum and drives intensive cohorts in Math, Cryptography, Solidity, and Rust to nurture the next generation of tech leaders.

Jordan Muthemba: Technical Mentor
Jordan is a seasoned blockchain engineer and former Celo Africa lead, with deep expertise in protocol development, smart contracts, and dApp tooling. As Technical Mentor for the Scroll Node Founder Program, he’ll guide builders in smart contract design, Scroll integration, and secure, scalable L2 practices—ensuring technically robust and future-ready node projects.

Ochieng Odhiambo – Community & Program Coordination
Ochieng Odhiambo, co-founder of Web3Clubs, has helped build a Web3 network of 5,000+ African members across several verticals through campus-based Web3 communities. As a mentor in the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Founder Program, he will guide founders on community building, ecosystem growth, and partnerships, bringing deep expertise in developer engagement and blockchain education.

Kokeb Solomon: Networking & Global Mentor Relations
Koko is Hackathon Operations Manager at SafariDAO and leads ETHSafari’s hackathon efforts. As Chief Evangelist Officer at Web3Clubs, she connects global Web3 projects with top African talent. Actively involved in Women in Ethereum Protocol, she champions diversity while fostering inclusive ecosystems and builder opportunities across the continent.

Wacuka Munyiri - Event Ops, Communications, and Community Ops
Wacuka Munyiri is a Kenyan technologist and advocate for inclusive tech education. Starting with SpaceYaTech, she has championed accessible learning and mentorship for underrepresented groups. As a mentor in the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Founder Program, she supports founders with developer experience, onboarding, and community engagement.

Cecilia Mulandi - Dev Rel, Assistant Tech.
Cecilia, a computer science graduate, has spent over two years in blockchain, specializing in smart contracts, cryptography, and zero-knowledge tech. She’s currently building a startup while contributing to communities like Web3Clubs and H.E.R. DAO Kenya. Passionate about impact, she bridges technical innovation with ecosystem growth.

Mentors & Advisors:

James Waugh - Governance and Token Design Mentor
James Waugh, a valued ally of our community, will mentor on governance and token design in the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Founder Program. Drawing on his experience with Axia Labs and MetaCartel, he’ll guide founders in building sustainable token economies and decentralized, community-driven systems.

Priscilla Muhiu - Growth Strategy, GTM Mentor
Priscilla Muhiu will mentor in the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Founder Program, focusing on growth strategy, go-to-market execution, and business models. With 13+ years in business development and marketing at Glovo, Sendy, and OLX, she brings deep expertise in scaling tech ventures in emerging markets to help founders build impactful Web3 startups.

Felix Macharia - Product Development, Pricing & Funding Mentor
Felix Macharia, CEO of Kotani Pay, specializes in blockchain infrastructure that enables Web3 access across Africa, especially for users without internet or smartphones. With expertise in USSD blockchain rails and crypto adoption in underserved markets, he will lead product mentorship in the Scroll Node Founder Program, helping founders design and deploy scalable, inclusive Web3 solutions for emerging markets.

Fane Kemuma - Legal Compliance Mentor
Fane Kemuma, founder of SafiraTech, will mentor in the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Program on legal engineering, compliance, and law-tech intersections. She guides founders in building legally sound, compliant Web3 startups.

Hamant Maini - TradFi
Hamant Maini, with 15+ years in investment banking, fintech, and public policy, is Chief Transformation Officer at Geni, a frontier market credit platform. Holding a Masters in Finance from London Business School, he’s experienced in fintech scaling and policy. In the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Program, Hamant mentors on financial infrastructure, compliance, and scaling strategies to help founders build strong, scalable Web3 ventures.

Lance Davis - DeFi/Technical Mentor
Lance Davis, founder of Seree Technologies, focuses on upgrading global finance with decentralized ZK rollup solutions. A computer engineering graduate from North Carolina A&T, he was recognized in the "Inno Under 25" list for his crypto insurance work with Minnet. In the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Program, Lance mentors on blockchain infrastructure, DeFi, and building secure, scalable Web3 solutions, supporting founders to create impactful, sustainable ventures.

Tina Nyamachae Growth Strategy Mentor
Tina Nyamachae will mentor in the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Program, focusing on growth strategy, fundraising, and investor relations. As a founding team member and former Growth Manager at Raise, she helped launch the MVP and shape growth plans. Her experience scaling startups and knowledge of the African venture scene will guide founders to build investor-ready Web3 ventures.

Brenda Wangari - Portfolio Success
Brenda Wangari, Head of Portfolio Success at Madica, has led support programs for African pre-seed startups, providing capital access, mentorship, and resources. With strong program management and investment experience, she will mentor in the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Program, focusing on portfolio strategy, founder support, and ecosystem navigation.

Patrons:

Karim Valimohamed - Phd - exNASA
Dr. Karim Valimohamed, a Kenyan technologist with a background in aerospace engineering, co-authored a 1990 NASA report. Now focused on blockchain for social justice, he serves as patron of the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Program, providing strategic mentorship on systems thinking and ethical tech use to help founders build impactful, community-driven Web3 solutions.

Brandon Knicely - Serial Tech Found ex IBM engineer
Brandon Knicely, an Austin-based entrepreneur and founder of Innovate4Good, brings expertise in startup acceleration, fundraising, and human capital development. In the Web3Clubs x Scroll Node Program, he mentors founders on scaling, fundraising, and growth strategies to build impactful Web3 ventures.

Financial Breakdown:

Total Funding Requested: $30,000 | SCR 92401.51 (25th May 2025)
Runway : 3 months

Category	Details	USD
Personnel Cost
Core Project Leads (3 persons) Dev Rel + Comms + onboarding lead Biz Dev/DeFi Strategy Lead Legal & Ops	$1,000 per person per month@ $40 / Hour (25Hrs / Month)($3,000 per person for the 3-month cohort duration)	$9,000
Admin Support Team (3 persons)	$500 per person per month@ $20 / Hour (25Hrs / Month)($1,500 per person for the 3-month cohort duration)	$4,500
Local Mentors/KOLs Team (4 tracks)	$975 per mentorship track($65 / hour) 15 hours / track	$3,900
Subtotal – Personnel		$17,400
Program & Events
IRL Bootcamp Delivery @ Web3Clubs Lab 24 hr/7-days access to physical co-working lab and facilities (e,g wifi, coffee, water, snacks etc.).	10 bootcamps at $740 each	$7,400
Demo Day	USD 1,200	$1,200
Subtotal – Programs		$8,600
Incentives
Builder Bounty Pool	Performance rewards	$3,000
Subtotal – Incentives		$3,000
Tech & Tooling
Zoom, Internet, Tools	Zoom ($250), Internet ($500), Collab tools ($250)	$1,000
Subtotal – Tooling		$1,000
TOTAL (USD)		$ 30,000
TOTAL (SCR - 25th May 2025)		SCR 92401.51

Monthly Budget Breakdown for Kenya Scroll Node Founder Program (3 Months)

Category	Details	Month 1	Month 2	Month 3	Total ($)
Personnel	Core Project Lead (3 persons @$1,000 per person/month)@ $40 / Hour (25Hrs / Month)	$3,000	$3,000	$3,000	$9,000
	Admin Support Team (3 persons) @$500 per person/month@ $20 / Hour (25Hrs / Month)$1,500 per person / Month	$1,500	$1,500	$1,500	$4,500
	Local Mentors/KOLs Incentives4 mentorship tracks($65 / hour) 15 hours / track	$1,300	$1,300	$1,300	$3,900
Subtotal – Personnel		$5,800	$5,800	$5,800	$17,400
Program & Events	10 Bootcamps @ $740 each(e,g wifi, coffee, water, snacks etc.)	$2,470	$2,470	$2,460	$7,400
	Demo Day (final showcase)	–	–	$1,200	$1,200
Subtotal – Programs		$2,470	$2,470	$3,660	$8,600
Incentives	Builder Bounty Pool	–	$1,500	$1,500	$3,000
Subtotal – Incentives		–	$1,500	$1,500	$3,000
Tech & Tooling	Zoom, Internet, Collab Tools	$333	$333	$334	$1,000
Subtotal – Tooling		$333	$333	$334	$1,000
TOTAL PER MONTH		$8,603	$10,103	$11,294	$30,000

Evaluation

Success for both of us means achieving:

• 5 - 10 High-Potential Teams Onboarded
  KPI: Number of teams progressing through the incubation pipeline to launch
  Measurement Tool: Internal CRM tracking system, project milestone dashboards, Scroll onchain deployment analytics
• 3+ Traditional Finance Integrations
  KPI: Number of integrations with banks, trade platforms, or public sector systems
  Measurement Tool: Signed MOUs, integration APIs usage logs, and partnership progress reports
• 3+ Regulatory Sandbox Applications (Kenya CMA)
  KPI: Number of fully developed and submitted applications to the Kenya CMA sandbox
  Measurement Tool: Regulatory submission records, compliance readiness assessments, and CMA feedback letters
• Scalable Growth Pathways
  KPIs: -
  • Project registrations Callout to Open Zero.
  • 1 Winning team
  • 1 team admitted to Open campus.
  • 70+ Devs and founders in Scrolls audience
• Measurement Tool: Fundraising tracker (deal flow CRM), expansion reports, investor engagement logs, and international market entry KPIs

Conclusion

With existing infrastructure, strong TradFi and stakeholder ties, and unmatched regional experience, this proposal ensures Scroll becomes a long-term player in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies.