Introducing Sankore 2.0 (S2)
Sankore 2.0 (S2) is an Africa-focused community integrating the NEAR blockchain to projects and solutions conceived and built by local developers in Kenya. The organisation, which is named after Africa’s oldest educational institution, helps developers to make use of NEAR and adopt Web3 technologies.
S2, which has its continental headquarters in a co-working space in the city of Nairobi, integrates NEAR with technologies and solutions poised to develop in the coming decade, and not just Web3 solutions. These include enterprise and institutional blockchain development, IoT, smart agriculture solutions, digital infrastructure, food and water security, and the creator economy (just to name a few).
One of S2’s goals is to expand outwards to other parts of Africa. S2 exists to bring full-spectrum evangelisation and development of Web3 products running on NEAR to the continent of Africa. The spectrum includes:
– Education
– Web3 Content
– Startup Promotion
– Making Policy and Regulation Recommendations for Government
– Supplying Technical Expertise to Enterprises
– Developer Recruitment
– Prototyping
– Regional Community Development
– Cross-Community/Guild Collaboration
– Events
– University Outreach
In short, S2 operates as the primary development arm of the NEAR ecosystem in Africa on multiple levels.
Short Term Roadmap
Step 1: Setting up S2 as a home for NEAR ecosystem projects in Nairobi for Kenya and for the continent of Africa: September 2021.
Step 2: Connecting with BitHub.Africa to design an engineering ecosystem with both the NEAR Protocol and Whive Protocol: October 2021
Step 3: Launching collaborations with policymakers, tech researchers and crypto experts in Africa to produce and incentivise Web3 content specific to the continent through investment, regulation & policy, while highlighting use cases and opportunities in Kenya: November 2021
In the midst of this process, S2 will continue to actively recruit, market, create, and share information about the emergence of the crypto economy in Kenya, and the larger continent of Africa.
Guild Leader:
Kevin Imani (Mazi), a member of the 4NTS Guild, will lead S2. Kevin started an affiliate marketing agency, where he taught copywriting courses to African entrepreneurs that began online businesses as affiliates. Kevin now holds a Master at the University of Oxford in African Studies. He has also done an internship at the European Commission with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP). 4NTS team members will support Kevin in his initial development of S2 on the ground in Nairobi.
Guild Location:
Nicknamed “Silicon Savannah,” experts consider Kenya a technological giant in East Africa. Kenya was also listed in the top five of the 2020 Global Crypto Adoption Index and is regarded by tech researchers as one of the leaders in ICT development. Kenya is a frontrunner in cryptocurrency adoption, and one of the friendliest and most progressive regulators of the industry.
Vision/Mission
Africa is an innovative frontier for Web3 products, as well as many other 4th Industrial Revolution technologies. While some in the crypto space have realised the massive potential Africa holds as both a user and developer base for Web3 solutions, the continent as a whole remains mostly unserved by crypto technologies.
S2 has three initial activities to rectify this situation:
1. Producing Web3 content in Africa that covers use cases, regulation & policy, and opportunities & potential
2. Making policy suggestions to policymakers that advance the needs of everyday people and businesses while coordinating with academics and community leaders
3. Collaborating with local developers and crypto hubs such as the Melanin Academy to incentivise students and professionals to build solutions that utilise NEAR.
Who is S2 for?
S2 is for people who want to be part of the next frontier for crypto: Web3 and Open Web solutions in and for Africa.
We welcome eager learners and budding entrepreneurs and provide training even to those who lack technical skills or professional experience in the sector. We seek to empower those that are eager to contribute to our core activities:
1. Web3 content production in Africa (including the research and the publication of articles and videos, editing, and designing)
2.Coordinating discussions with technologists, academics, business leaders, and politicians to create effective regulatory frameworks that champion pro-digital/crypto policies, IT infrastructure, and crypto education.
3. Developing Web3 solutions on NEAR
We stand by our saying that “we don’t disappoint, we execute.” This is the philosophy that guides our productivity as an organisation and the quality of our products. Our members are judged by their level of commitment and productivity, which comes in many forms.
Why Should You Participate in S2?
You belong to S2 for the following reasons:
– You believe in banking the unbanked through crypto.
– You believe in Open-Web/Decentralised solutions for developing countries.
– You believe in policy frameworks that incentivise digital-friendly businesses in Africa.
If you agree with these statements, then you’ll love S2 and should join this community. We can give many other reasons for why you’d be passionate about S2, so keep reading this blog to find out about our plans in more detail. Africa is (still) a minor market for cryptocurrencies and other blockchain applications but is poised for an explosion of such solutions. The continent’s rapid adoption of similarly-digital mobile money and its relative youthfulness (in most countries 15-35 year olds comprise 45-70% of the population) make it the new frontier for crypto. The take-off, however, has barely begun. We are EARLY. Early in a world where services are disrupting the status quo in most sectors, including finance, retail payment systems, healthcare, education, energy, water, and government services to name a few. You can be part of the disruption that comes from a more efficient and accessible financial system, not to mention the other applications of blockchain.
Click here to Join the S2 community. We would love to get in touch with you to see how you can be part of the new Africa-focused NEAR guild, S2.
A Word From S2’s Leader
I (Kevin Imani) lead S2, and I would love to welcome you to our community. It’s a place where we can be part of something much bigger than ourselves. I started this by being teachable, making mistakes, getting back up, doing, trying, and losing my ego along the way. Today I’m excited to announce to you S2 and would love to learn from you, to support you, and to build awesome things together.
More Info
Official Website: https://www.sankore2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sankore2_0
Medium: https://medium.com/sankore2-0
Contact: kevin@sankore2.com
