Magma: Empowering Africa's Builders to Shape a Blockchain-Driven Future
Milestone Update 2024
Introduction
Africa is a continent brimming with potential, driven by a dynamic and youthful population eager to embrace innovation. However, economic challenges such as limited access to banking, expensive cross-border trade, and restrictive economic frameworks continue to hinder growth. Blockchain technology, with its decentralized nature, offers a promising solution by enabling borderless financial opportunities and fostering economic empowerment. Leading this transformative movement is Borderless Africa, an initiative dedicated to uniting African builders and founders to integrate the continent's economy with blockchain technology.
Borderless Africa: Driving Ethereum’s Growth in Africa
Borderless Africa is a groundbreaking initiative that connects the global Ethereum community with African ecosystems. Through its programs, it supports developers and promotes the creation of decentralized applications (DApps), aiming to accelerate Ethereum’s adoption and enhance its real-world utility across the continent.
Key Achievements
Cross-Continent Learning Expedition: In collaboration with Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation, Borderless Africa led a month-long journey across four African nations, engaging with over 500 builders. This expedition highlighted key ecosystem challenges and emphasized the crucial role of crypto in connecting communities.
Layer 2 Roadshow: A two-week tour featuring leaders from Arbitrum, Scroll, and ETHGlobal included developer workshops, meetups, and technical sessions designed to foster collaboration between local and global experts.
Ethereum Core Dev Summit: Hosted in Kenya, this event brought together 125 Ethereum L1 core developers, researchers, and client teams, culminating in a one-day summit attended by over 250 developers from 12 African countries.
Magma Founder Residency: A two-week intensive program that united 25 exceptional African founders to strengthen collaboration, drive innovation, and promote a community-focused approach.
Magma Founder Residency
Magma, Borderless Africa’s flagship program, is designed to foster innovation, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing among Africa’s leading builders. The residency unites founders to develop blockchain-based projects, improve the interoperability of their initiatives, and cultivate a strong, supportive network that endures beyond the program. Participants benefit from mentorship by Ethereum developers and researchers, creating an environment where groundbreaking ideas can flourish and community-driven growth takes center stage.
Cohort 2 – October 2024
Magma Cohort 2, held in Kenya, brought together 24 of Africa’s top founders and builders to foster collaboration, align roadmaps, and enhance interoperability across blockchain initiatives. The program emphasized building Africa’s financial and trust systems on-chain, offering participants technical support and mentorship from leading global Web3 experts.
Mentorship sessions featured Esk3nder, who presented the product vision of ENS Domains, and Chris Lema, who outlined Scroll’s mission to onboard the next billion users to a scalable rollup. These talks provided participants with valuable strategies for creating impactful blockchain solutions.
By tackling challenges such as fragmented systems and Web3 UX hurdles, Magma Cohort 2 showcased Africa’s potential to transform economies and accelerate Web3 adoption. This residency represented a significant milestone in shaping Africa’s on-chain future.
Cohort 3 – April 2025
The third cohort is scheduled for April 2025, building on the progress of previous cohorts to further strengthen connections among builders and advance project development. The residency is also expecting a larger turnout of global mentors and supporters. This continued support will help ensure sustainable growth and deeper integration into the global Ethereum community.
Devcon Scholarship for African Builders
At Devcon, Borderless Africa highlighted the innovation and resilience of African builders through a series of impactful initiatives. In collaboration with Pagodasia, they created a GM hub to foster connections and strengthen community ties. A circle discussion, led by Aya Miyaguchi and Vitalik Buterin, welcomed 177 African attendees—many experiencing Devcon for the first time. Aya emphasized Africa’s pivotal role in Ethereum’s mission and the importance of addressing real-world problems where they matter most.
Thirteen startups showcased projects aimed at addressing local challenges and simplifying crypto adoption for users, businesses, and developers. A traditional Ethiopian “buna” coffee ceremony offered a welcoming space for participants to share personal stories, while deep-dive discussions on governance, Open Finance, and infrastructure fostered collaboration between global and African builders.
These initiatives bridged the professional divide, empowering African builders to connect globally and showcase their work. Borderless Africa’s long-term vision is to host Devcon in Africa by 2026, amplifying the continent’s presence and influence in the blockchain ecosystem.
Milestones Proposed for ENS DAO
The Public Goods Working Group awarded Borderless Africa a $50k USDC grant through its Large Grants initiative to support the execution and growth of its key programs. This funding covers essential components such as coordination expenses, expert-led mentorship, and travel support for participants in the Magma Founder Residencies and Devcon scholarships.
The structured distribution of the grant enabled the successful execution of Magma Founder Residency Cohort 2 and supports ongoing preparations for Cohort 3, scheduled for April 2025, building on the progress achieved thus far. Additionally, a portion of the grant facilitated Devcon scholarships, ensuring African builders could attend and actively engage in global Ethereum events.
About ENS DAO Large Grants
The Large Grants initiative from the Public Goods Working Group funds essential Ethereum and Web3 public goods projects, providing up to 50k USDC for initiatives that demonstrate strong utility and impact.
To learn more, visit the ENS DAO Forum and follow ENS DAO for notifications about the next Large Grants opportunity.
Note: Grants are paid out in tranches. The original distribution date was Q3 2024, and subsequent fund distributions have been made since, following the completion of milestones.
Last updated