Project Catalyst, a Cardano-based decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), reached the milestone of 1,000 completed projects on November 22, 2024, general manager Kriss Baird announced.
What’s the significance? Project Catalyst funds Cardano-based projects that will pass a decentralized decision-making process from the $ADA stakers.
Short background: Recently, also a Cardano project, Proof of Impact Platform, chose Palawan NGO Network Inc., an organization of non-government organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) in Palawan that seeks to present a broader NGO consensus in the province, so the latter can receive $ADA donations.
About Project Catalyst: Launched in 2020, Project Catalyst started as a series of experiments for on-chain governance and community-driven innovation on the Cardano blockchain while utilizing its native token, $ADA.
- Goal: According to Baird, the DAO eyes to “achieve the highest levels of community collaboration and to seed the best ideas with development funding via a community-moderated process.”
- Target: Project Catalyst invites Cardano-based projects that need funding and $ADA stakers for DAO voters and community reviewers.
- How It Works: Project Catalyst has funding rounds every few months.
- Currently, the DAO is in the 13th round called Fund13.
- Before Every Funding Round: $ADA stakers that are part of the DAO can submit proposals to solve challenges set in the previous funding round.
- Like any other DAO, proposals are then selected by community vote and funding is allocated to bring the proposals to life.
“Community, innovation, funding, value, growth – Catalyst creates powerful synergies, and ultimately a self-sustaining engine of growth for Cardano’s future. Project Catalyst is a fulcrum of future development and sustainable innovation, driven by the Cardano community, for the Cardano community.”
Kriss Baird, General Manager, Project Catalyst
By the numbers: As of November 25, 2024
- 8,317 DAO and project proposals
- 2,772,471 votes casted
- $100+ million total funding allocated
- 1,892 proposals and projects funded
- 69,000 DAO members
- 6,600+ Telegram community
- 2,800+ X followers
- 4,400+ Discord community
“Community is at the heart of Project Catalyst. That’s why we empower every member of the Cardano community to actively participate in the development of the network. Ideas can come from anyone and anywhere within our global network, no matter their background or location.”
Project Catalyst
Some Notable Projects that the Project Catalyst has funded include:
- Cardano Africa Smart Farming DApp by Captivating Naturals
- Funding Round: Fund9
- Problem to Solve: Lack of efficiency in coffee farming. Africa’s potential Coffee production is not being met. We have a bounty of raw materials but production output is low. Miscommunication farmer owners/managers.
- About the Project: Create a photo-taking DApp prototype using AI, ML, and robotics to improve farm production efficiency in the coffee industry.
- Funds Received: $15,000
- Open Ledger for Agricultural Land by DigiFarm CEO Nils Helset
- Funding Round: Fund8
- Problem to Solve: Outdated and inaccurate agricultural field boundaries created, managed, and updated by national Cadastral agencies manually.
- About the Project: Implement an automatic detection of field boundaries and seeded acres for Tanzania’s smallholder farmers using super-high resolution SatEO.
- Funds Received: $55,000
- Cardano Tunisia by Computer science student Yosr Benmahmoud
- Funding Round: Fund9
- Problem to Solve: Tunisia is a developing country where ambitious students with innovative business ideas yet with funds shortage are yearning to dive in the blockchain domain yet struggling to find opportunities.
- About the Project: Create the first educational online platform that provides Arabic content about Blockchain and Cardano, which is further dedicated to motivated students and future entrepreneurs.
- Funds Received: $5,000
- CNFT Festival Japan Meets the West by ThHddnOrdr
- Funding Round: Fund8
- Problem to Solve: There are language and cultural gaps to adopting Cardano. The best way to bridge cultural and language barriers is through creating NFT art.
- About the Project: Bridge Japanese and English communities with an Annual Cardano NFT Art Festival in Japan with local/international artists.
- Funds Received: $15,000
- Catalyst Site: Education Resources
- Funding Round: Fund5
- Problem to Solve: The educational resources, links, and calendar dates for Catalyst are scattered and don’t have a friendly user interface.
- About the Project: Create a user-friendly calendar page and aggregated resources for learning about Catalyst.
- Funds Received: $5,200
To check the projects involved in funding, both in progress and completed, go to: https://projectcatalyst.io/funds
What to Watch: For those who want to submit proposals, Fund13 has already closed. The next round is expected to start next year.
This article is published on BitPinas: $ADA For a Cause: Cardano-Based Project Can Secure Funding Through Community Voting
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