The Inkuba Blockchain Center will deliver substantial, multi-layered benefits to both the local Burkina Faso ecosystem and the broader Cardano community, creating an exceptional return on investment through:

Ecosystem Expansion & Diversification

• Developer Ecosystem Growth: Transform trained developers into active contributors, significantly expanding Cardano's developer base in a region currently underrepresented in the ecosystem.
• Geographic Diversification: Establish a strong Cardano presence in West Africa, creating resilience through geographic distribution and reducing the ecosystem's dependence on traditional blockchain hubs.
• Use Case Innovation: Unlock unique African use cases addressing real-world challenges in remittances, agricultural supply chains, digital identity, and financial inclusion that can be replicated across similar markets globally.

Technical & Knowledge Value Creation

• Localized Solutions: Develop Cardano dApps tailored to West African contexts, creating templates and frameworks that can be adapted across emerging markets—addressing the 1.7 billion unbanked population worldwide.
• Language & Cultural Adaptation: Create documentation, educational materials, and interfaces in French and local languages, making Cardano technology accessible to 120+ million French-speaking Africans.
• Knowledge Transfer: Generate case studies, implementation guides, and best practices for deploying blockchain solutions in challenging infrastructure environments, benefiting the entire ecosystem.

Strategic Community Benefits

• Talent Pipeline Development**: Structure a sustainable pathway from universities to professional development, creating a continuous flow of African developers committed to building on Cardano.
• Network Effect Acceleration**: Each developer trained becomes an ambassador, creating exponential awareness and adoption growth across West Africa's rapidly digitalizing economies.
• Governance Decentralization**: Increase meaningful participation from African stakeholders in Cardano governance, bringing diverse perspectives to project catalysis and treasury decisions.

Quantifiable Return on Investment

• Developer Multiplication**: Turn an initial cohort of 20-30 developers into 100+ active builders through training programs, multiplying the initial investment impact.
• Project Generation**: Launch at least 5-7 viable blockchain projects within the first year, demonstrating concrete outputs from the investment.
• Ecosystem Metrics Growth**: Increase measurable metrics including wallet creation, transaction volume, and smart contract deployment from the region by 300% within 18 months.
• Partnership Leverage**: Use Cardano funding as a catalyst to unlock additional support from universities, local businesses, and potentially other blockchain initiatives, multiplying the effective investment.

The Inkuba Blockchain Inkubation Center represents more than just a funding allocation—it's a strategic investment in Cardano's global future, establishing a self-sustaining innovation hub that will continuously generate technical, social, and economic returns for the entire ecosystem for years to come.

This proposal ensures Plutarch remains robust, up-to-date, and supported, benefiting Cardano developers and dApp projects who rely on it. The value is a more stable, efficient development environment, fostering innovation. The ROI includes increased developer productivity, enhanced dApp quality, and overall ecosystem health through maintained core infrastructure. Plutarch's wide adoption demonstrates its value.

This proposal ensures CTL remains robust, up-to-date, and supported, directly benefiting Cardano developers using Purescript to build dApps. It provides a stable and efficient development environment specifically for browser-based applications. The ROI includes enabling faster development cycles for Purescript dApps, improving the quality and feature set of those dApps, and supporting a key segment of the Cardano developer ecosystem. CTL's adoption by projects like Indigo Protocol, Genius Yield, and AADA Finance demonstrates its value.

Funding this proposal ensures Atlas PAB remains a robust and up-to-date backend solution for Cardano dApp developers. This benefits developers by providing a reliable tool for managing application logic, querying chain data, and indexing contract information. The ROI for the community includes enabling the development of more sophisticated dApps, improving backend performance and stability, and supporting key projects within the ecosystem that rely on Atlas.

This proposal ensures developers have continued access to CLB, a maintained and up-to-date Cardano emulator. The benefit is faster, more efficient, and reliable local testing cycles for dApps, particularly those using Atlas and CTL. This speeds up development, helps identify bugs earlier, and reduces reliance on potentially slower public testnet infrastructure for certain testing phases. The ROI is increased developer productivity and potentially higher quality dApps entering the ecosystem.

This proposal ensures developers using Plutarch continue to benefit from Ply's type-safe bridge between on-chain and off-chain code. The primary benefit is increased developer confidence, reduced runtime errors related to script interfacing, and potentially faster development due to improved type checking. The ROI is higher quality, more robust dApps built with Plutarch, contributing to the overall security and reliability of the Cardano ecosystem. Its wide adoption alongside Plutarch demonstrates its value.

Funding this proposal ensures the Cardano community continues to have access to a maintained and reliable Cardano.nix toolset. This benefits anyone deploying Cardano infrastructure (nodes, wallets, explorers) using Nix, including SPOs, developers, and enterprises. The value lies in providing reproducible, robust deployment methods, reducing configuration errors and setup time. The ROI is improved infrastructure reliability, easier onboarding for Nix users into Cardano, and support for key ecosystem players like IOG and the Daedalus Wallet team.

Securing ongoing funding for Pallas directly benefits the Cardano developer community by ensuring its continued reliability and performance as a key open-source resource for the Cardano ecosystem. Projects like Aiken, Lucid, Mithril, and Amaru already utilize Pallas to streamline development and reduce infrastructure complexity. By maintaining Pallas, we help developers focus on building applications rather than managing low-level blockchain details. This support strengthens the ecosystem’s developer tooling, makes it easier for new developers to contribute, and fosters innovation across various Cardano-based projects.

Securing funding for UTxO RPC ensures it remains actively maintained and continues to evolve with the Cardano ecosystem's needs. Ongoing updates, performance improvements, and new feature development will ensure the interface stays relevant and effective. This support will help simplify blockchain integrations, reduce complexity for developers, and improve overall performance, making it easier for new projects to adopt UTxO RPC. With continued maintenance, UTxO RPC can better serve the ecosystem and support long-term developer needs.

Securing funding for Dolos will ensure its continued maintenance, optimization, and feature expansion, directly benefiting projects that rely on fast and lightweight access to Cardano ledger data. Continued improvements will enhance performance, reduce infrastructure overhead, and support a broader range of use cases. By keeping Dolos actively maintained, the Cardano developer community gains a robust and efficient alternative to traditional node setups, lowering operational costs and improving blockchain data accessibility.

If implemented, what would be the benefit and to which parts of the community? Please include the demonstrated value or return on investment to the Cardano Community. The benefits of this proposal directly reflect the positive outcomes of addressing the identified problem. Based on the analysis, the key benefits include:

• Increased Accessibility: Translating materials into Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese (Mandarin), and Italian—alongside the original English—will make Hydra documentation accessible to a much broader global audience, covering over 2.6 billion speakers worldwide.
• Improved Understanding: A step-by-step tutorial video in English with subtitles in the additional target languages will significantly enhance comprehension, especially for non-technical users, by offering clear and visual instructions. This aligns with the documented need for beginner-friendly resources.
• Easier Node Setup: The video guide will help users more easily set up and run Hydra nodes, reducing technical barriers and potentially increasing participation in the protocol.
• Promotion of Inclusion and Diversity: By reaching non-English-speaking communities, the proposal promotes inclusion and aligns with Cardano’s core values—as demonstrated by initiatives like Cardano Community Translations.
• Potential Growth in Hydra Adoption: Making Hydra more accessible could lead to greater usage, directly supporting Cardano’s scalability goals in the Basho era, as outlined in the Cardano roadmap.

The Ada Labs for Blockchain Applications (A.L.B.A.) Network addresses this gap by deploying Cardano nodes across prestigious universities worldwide.

This initiative:

Leverages Cardano’s Academic DNA: Aligns with Cardano’s origins in academia (supported by 239 peer-reviewed papers) to build institutional trust and credibility. Prepares for Government Adoption: Establishes a low-cost, high-impact network of academic partners who will advocate for Cardano as governments seek guidance on mission-critical blockchain solutions. Mitigates Competitive Risks: Counters the dominance of less reliable blockchains in key sectors by embedding Cardano as the academically endorsed standard for systems where failure is unacceptable. Creates Long-Term Advocacy: Positions universities as hubs for Cardano-based innovation, ensuring future developers, policymakers, and industry leaders are trained on and loyal to Cardano’s ecosystem. By planting these seeds now, the A.L.B.A. Network ensures Cardano becomes the default choice for high-stakes applications, directly translating academic rigor into real-world adoption and governance influence.

Implementing this proposal would yield significant benefits across various segments of the Cardano community:

• Enhanced Blockchain and Cardano Awareness: By providing accessible tools tailored for SMEs, this initiative will elevate the visibility of Cardano and its capabilities within the small and medium enterprise sector.
• Increased Adoption Rates: Simplifying blockchain integration for SMEs is anticipated to introduce thousands of new users to the Cardano ecosystem, fostering broader community engagement.
• Attraction of Diverse Enterprises: With user-friendly solutions for payments, supply chain tracking, and smart contracts, more SMEs are likely to adopt Cardano-based applications, expanding the commercial use cases within the network.
• Strengthened Ecosystem Sustainability: A surge in transactions from SME activities will generate additional fees, benefiting stake pool operators and contributing to the Cardano treasury.

The return on investment includes a more robust and self-sustaining ecosystem. By lowering entry barriers for SMEs, this project not only amplifies Cardano's real-world utility but also stimulates network growth, potentially surpassing the initial investment through increased economic activity and treasury contributions.

This proposal enhances the Daedalus Wallet by improving performance, governance participation, and scalability, ensuring its long-term viability in the Cardano ecosystem.

Key Benefits: Better User Experience: LSM integration and Mithril research reduce memory usage and improve sync times.

Stronger On-Chain Governance: A fair and transparent DRep selection interface empowers ADA holders to make informed delegation decisions.

Enhanced Scalability: Exploring Layer 2 bridges (Hydra, Midgard) and hybrid wallet integrations expands interoperability.

Long-Term Security & Maintenance: Regular updates keep Daedalus secure, preventing obsolescence.

Return on Investment (ROI): Higher adoption & retention of full-node users.

Stronger decentralization by making full-node participation more accessible.

Future-proofing Cardano with L2 support and governance improvements.

Who Benefits? ✅ Full-node users (faster, leaner Daedalus) ✅ ADA holders & voters (better DRep selection) ✅ DReps (fairer visibility & competition) ✅ Stake pool operators & developers (L2 adoption & transaction growth)

This proposal ensures Daedalus remains a powerful full-node wallet, supporting decentralization, governance, and scalability in the Cardano ecosystem. 🚀

The proposed solution will have multiple positive impacts on the Cardano community. First, it will provide a new, robust infrastructure for NFT and IoT data storage, contributing to the Cardano ecosystem’s service capabilities. Second, by allowing Cardano Stakepool Operators to act as storage nodes, it introduces an additional revenue stream, making stake pool operations more profitable and thereby encouraging more participation. This incentivizes further decentralization, enhancing network resilience. We will measure impact through metrics such as the number of active SPOs participating in the storage network, volume of data stored, number of dApps using our storage, and increased stake pool rewards. Outputs and opportunities will be shared openly via GitHub, community reports, and regular updates through Project Catalyst channels and other community forums. Additionally, we will conduct dedicated workshops for Stakepool Operators, publish technical documentation, and organize community Q&A sessions to foster engagement, transparency, and broad adoption across the community. Unlike IPFS and similar networks, the data lattice is not made up of anonymous nodes. A storage provider can offer its services directly to users. An SPO or groups of SPOs can band together to offer more capacity or storage redundancy. SPOs can advertise their services and create an ecosystem dedicated to them, locking future revenue. This will open economic opportunities unmatched by competitors and give unique opportunities to node operators.

We will define parameters, monitor DRep behavior across key parameters to collect data and model incentives. Using this data, we'll create a mathematical formula that fairly rewards valuable contributions. This work will be transparently documented, -communicated, openly tested, and iteratively improved. The model will be guided by community feedback and evidence based work from experts.

Transparency: The community gains clear visibility into how incentives are structured and awarded. Engagement: Increased motivation for active, consistent, and high-quality participation from DReps. Fairness: A data-driven approach ensures rewards are proportional to measurable contributions, enhancing trust. Community influence over the process ensures a fair distribution model. Scalability: A model adaptable for future governance needs and changes in community dynamics.The process can be replicated to create similar models for other governance bodies.

Implementation would democratize and significantly expand access to real estate investment across Latin America by enabling fractional ownership, increasing liquidity, and reducing regulatory hurdles. The Cardano community benefits from enhanced ecosystem visibility, increased total value locked (TVL) through integrated DeFi mechanisms, and sustainable use of the treasury with pay back of funds on the long term. Overall, this fosters ecosystem growth, attracts both crypto-native and traditional investors, and reinforces Cardano’s competitive positioning in the fast-growing tokenized Real World Assets (RWA) market.

This proposal will provide consistent and high-quality marketing content to raise awareness of top Cardano projects.

It will:\n

Enhance project visibility and education through 90 short-form videos.

Increase engagement, driving a minimum of 990,000 impressions and 5000 interactions across 45 weeks.

Expand the Cardano community by targeting 500 new Discord members and 2,000 new Twitter followers.

Support onboarding of at least 500 new users to featured Cardano projects.

Strengthen collaboration by featuring 40+ distinct Cardano projects.

Improve public perception and Cardano’s competitive positioning in the blockchain space.

As previously mentioned, our solution eliminates the biggest user experience challenges associated with self-custody, a fundamental requirement for interacting with our Cardano DApp ecosystem

Such a solution would represent significant benefits for all the self-custodial users of Cardano:

• Blockchain-Based Will Execution: Users can set predefined inheritance rules via smart contracts, ensuring a secure, trustless transfer of assets to beneficiaries—without exposing their holdings by sharing a seed phrase.

• Rule-Based Recovery Mechanism: For the first time, Cardano users can implement a smart contract-powered recovery system in case they lose their seed phrase without giving up self-custody. This solution will allow you to recover assets even after a seed phrase has been lost, according to the strict rules you define. This addresses one of the biggest pain points of the self-custody experience.

By significantly improving the self-custody user experience, we’re not only enhancing security and convenience for existing users but also making self-custody more accessible for new users who have concerns about inheritance planning or the lack of recovery options.

There is a large segment of potential users who are tech-savvy enough to use self-custodial wallets but remain hesitant due to these challenges. Our solution removes these barriers, allowing more users to engage confidently with self-custody, Cardano DApps, and the broader ecosystem.

Additionally, integrating Cardano DApps within our smart vaults will provide a seamless experience, making it easier for users to interact with DeFi, and other Cardano blockchain-powered applications. This, in turn, will increase DApp adoption and on-chain activity on Cardano.

Our solution also directly aligns with Cardano’s goal to become the DeFi Layer for Bitcoin. By introducing this inheritance and recovery functionality to Bitcoin users, who deeply value decentralization, self-custody, and trustless technologies, we can attract a lot of Bitcoin liquidity into Cardano with a simple but needed use case that solves a major existing problem for Bitcoiners.

Finally, this solution will also attract real-world liquidity to Cardano. There have been Inheritance firms and Lawyers who have demonstrated interest in piloting this technology in their operations. This is an opportunity we could take advantage of to bring more assets and liquidity to Cardano, as this firm wants to tokenize assets to manage the Inheritance process using this technology and the security, transparency, and reliability of the Cardano blockchain and the untampered data it stores.

Why is the potential for this technology in the Inheritance Industry so large? Currently, the process of managing inheritances is inefficient, manual, and time-consuming, often incurring costs between 3% and 10% of the total inheritance. By simplifying and automating these processes, the solution reduces delays and costs, significantly improving productivity for inheritance firms.

We have already engaged with firms in the industry, demonstrating our technology and gathering valuable feedback for improvements. These firms have demonstrated excitement and willingness to pilot our solution and have expressed their availability to contribute with feedback to help us build a tool that can be used effectively in the real world.

The inheritance industry manages trillions of dollars in assets globally. This technology could be a great way to capture some of that value and liquidity into the overall Cardano ecosystem by providing Firms with an easy-to-use technology that streamlines processes such as inheritance planning, beneficiary tracking, and asset distribution. For the usage of this technology, firms will be incentivized to tokenize the RWAs they manage into the Cardano Blockchain.

As a Cardano Contributor and holder, I believe that what Cardano needs for meaningful long-term adoption is to build technologies that solve real-world problems and have a chance to be adopted by Industries, and this is the kind of work we are doing with GenWealth and this technology, and why we believe it makes sense to propose this to Dreps and the entire Cardano Community to be considered for the annual budget, as one of the priorities for this year is to attract liquidity and more real world adoption, which we can deliver.

If implementation of new Cardano features and breaking changes is not completed then hardware wallets may become incompatible with Cardano, stopping users from accessing newer blockchain features or stop working altogether.

If regular maintenance, bugfixing and developer support is not completed, wallets may lack functionalities and development of tooling that is using HW wallets may become impossible or much more difficult.